CONFISCATION OF NATIVE LANDS.

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1864 Session I, E-02b

APPENDIX TO E.—No. 2.

CONFISCATION OF NATIVE LANDS.

E.—No. 2

DESPATCHES FROM THE GOVERNOR.

(Presented to the Imperial Parliament 20th Mai/, 18G4.J

No. 1. (No. 9.) COPT OF A DESPATCH FKOM GOTEnNOE SIR GEOBGE OBEY, X.C.8., TO HIS GEACE THE DUKE OP NEWCASTLE, K.G. TUV T^» n Tirrr- Government House, Auckland, 6th January, 1804. Mr Lokd Duke — (Keceived 14th March, 1864.) __ . , «:• w 6,!• h™miT. l° 1 trallBlnit t0 J°ur Grace tl]e documents named in the margin, relative to a b?tl c fovorl Tf ,[ "^ Llte Ch -6f 6°f NeW Zealaud ' 0b Jectin* t0 some of the &» Prosed 7 9 t£ r- i U termination of the troubles now existing in this Colony M^rHi,' ,! "t f r? ta7 Ii aSappf' KW a memorandum, expressing his views upon Sir William Marten B paper; I wish also to bring the following remarks under your Grace's consideration • not to''kv v IT' ft !f- VS; P arn- 1G 1 "If th?*f> me »' aftei- Bi^g the best proof of their intentions Aol 1 11 1 \f f f the Queen, yet seeing the.r territory entered by an armed force, and property JSC r" C>' St°? d. Up T^ °Ught W° not in fairness t0 Ollcklde «•-* ««* resistei, no^ because they were traitors, but rather because they were New Zealanders, or because they were mm?" ». I believe that this passage refers to the majority of the Waikato chiefs, who at native runaneas : held to consider the question, refused, before the commencement of the existing troubles to 7on the Other natives in their proposed attack upon the European settlements ' J OB^ssinSed rtN™v? T^'^tt '"^T "^ n r ine. soldiers had jM then been most shockingly assassinated at New Plymouth, by the order of some of the Upper Waikato chiefs. I believe that the so-called Maori King knew that these orders had been issued, and either would'not or most probably was powerless to mterfere. He, howerer, never gave me any 'warning that such an nSSon eSei 7> Tmv-^WVI a/ tei; thesc mu^™, plots were formed by the same people, and their adherents in the levo S ,1S" '^ $Tt lUU n settlement ,of Auckl™d- The natives who formed these plots were all well armed and had long been preparing themselves for such enterprises They had drilled their men, dressed them in uniforms, appointed them to different ranks ? ' to h/^WI f°bbex Pecc + exP ect l ed that a civilized people, who knew that the question of whether they were to be attacked or not was discussed in runangas or councils (which anyone could enter and then vote) Bho'dd dda/for'S-t 1 ft nT tiV6 -V Small "« Whidl WV mi Sht become a S3& buouw delay tm a day to take the requisite measures lor the protection of their families and properties • e"™3? ?SI Pf ?1 W° f *i! GOTeT!f n* which/having the then recent and Rentable example at Neu Plymouth before its eyes, had hesitated to provide for the safety of the Queen's subjects ? Lnder such circumstances, must it not be held that Her Majesty's forces may be moved into any part of her possessions for the protection of the quiet and peaceable against the armed and turbulent who arc plotting their destruction; and that the mere fact of their having marched across a certain stream to attain this object cannot be regarded as an act which justifies the turbulent in entering an iSuropean settlement, and m murdering inoffensive and unarmed settlers, or in attacking Her Majesty's 7. I say this, not r,s an answer to Sir WillhuM Martin's views, which would probably aoree with my own on this point, but because I fear that his remarks might, as they stand, be misunderstood by persons i cS'i !? fy^lf^' *o. 177, of the sth of December last, I enclosed a native statement, which showed that when Genera Cameron, early in July last, moved to provide for the protection of the settlement oi Auckland, the native attacking forces were already in motion, and that when he crossed the Mangatawhn-i, their leading parties had already passed up the Maramarua to occupy Paparata or some other point on the hue which they intended to take up. " J 9. I now enclose for your Grace's information the copy of another native statement, from a totally E independent source, which shows that the Waikato natives did their utmost, at the period of time to to which I allude, to induce William Thompson to join them with his tribe in a simultaneous attack upon 6 the European population. ■ x I have, &c, G. Gbet.

No. 1. Governor Sir Geo. Grey, X.C.8., to the Duke of Newcastle, K.G., G January 1864. £nlosure E " & F°* to n Sir° %?\2L DecemEnoW.2 Sir William Mar tin > to Mr- *<*. 16 Nov" 1863--™EnclosT a, feS^r^ Marti^ I c '

R-uhi'sStatem^f to Dr Ihortb.T.S 6 J<"™ry 18C4.

E.—No. 2

Enclosure 1, in No. 1. MEiroEAyDTni for Hia Excellency. ' ivr ■ H« Excellency » requested to forward the enclosed copy of a paper by Sir William Martin to Her Majesty s Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, in accordance with the request of the writer lne Colonial .Secretary has appended a memorandum at the end of the document. 01 a t> i moo "William Fox. 31st December, 1S63.

End. 1, in No,

Enclosure 2, in No. 1. Auckland, 16th November, 1863. I beg to submit, through you, to the Government certain considerations relative to the plans now proposed for terminating the troubles of the Colony. My remarks have grown to a bulk which I had not contemplated, but which yet appeared to be necessary in order to exhibit in their true relations various important facts which are often overlooked or unknown, and so to arrive at a fair view of the whole case. The extent of the subject, and the rapid progress of business in the Assembly have prevented my submitting the considerations as I purposed to the Assembly itself. I now venture to ask for them from the Government such attention as their relation to a question so novel and so momentous may entitle them to. May I also request you to move his Excellency the Governor to submit these considerations to hisbrrace the Duke of Newcastle. The Honourable. W Fox, X *"* &C" WwU3l MAm JNative Minister. (See Memorandum by the Colonial Secretary at the end of Sir "William Martin's paper.)

End. 2, in No. 1.

OBSERVATIONS ox the proposal to take native lauds txdee ah act of the assembly. 1.—Introduction. 1. Land may accrue to the Crown in various ways :— i , ,]^ rB*: v :Hlrom foreign enemies by conquest—that "is to say, by military force controlled and regulated by the usages of war, as understood amongst civilized nations. Secondly. From subjects, by operation of law ; and this in one of three modes, namely • (a.) By forfeiture upon conviction of treason in a court of law. (b.) By Act of Attainder, resorted to by Parliament in extraordinary cases, where a regular trial for treason'is not practicable ; in which cases, however, though the forms of the law of treason be departed from, the substance is to be closely adhered to. (c.) Or, thirdly, by a special legislative enactment, authorising the Executive Government to take the land of a subject for the purpose of public defence, or for any other national purpose • the land being in such cases taken under such restrictions and upon such terms of compensation to the private owners as Parliament may prescribe in the Act. _ Lastly. Land may fall to the Crown by cession ; and that either from a foreign State or from a subject. ° 2. The first point, then, to be cleared up is this, which of these modes is applicable in this case? And this again depends on the question to be presently considered, "What is, in point of law the relation of persons of the native race to the Crown of England ?" , , A™. tliev subjects or foreigners ? For the purposed this inquiry it will bo necessary to refer (which I will do as briefly as possible) to the history of the original colonization of this country a subject which, though often discussed, appears to be not even yet generally understood It will 'be necessary, also, to go even further back, even to the principles on which our English colonization had proceeded in earlier fames, in order thereby to render more clear the peculiarity of the mode in which the colonization of these Islands was undertaken. 2-—Principles of English Colonisation. i n 1' iThCr11"* e-n V° T d? °f coloni'f in S ' oue ' b J which tlie Pe ople of the territory colonized may be locally brought within the dominion of the Crown, yet may remain in nearly everything else as independent as before; and a second by which they may be brought (as far as possible) even from the beginning within the law and politica system of the colonizers. By the one system they remain (at Norrl^AmoZ? f;; mf"r ;, b-v other they become subjects. The former has been exemplified in l\orrn America; the latter, here in J\ew Zealand. ., No more authoritative exposition of our national law of colonization can anywhere be found than that which is to be found in the " Commentaries" of the celebrated Chancellor of the State of New York to thesTrei'iwkf NoT lr'CntanCS °" ei^*n W ' Lecture 51)> and which J sub Join ™ the Appendix 2. Our forfathers, then, in entering upon the colonization of North America, asserted their right

4

PAPERS RELATIVE TO

E.—No. 2.

and their intention to appropriate that region to our nation as a field for colonisation to the exclusion of all foreign nations. As against the natives of the country, they asserted no rights except such asTere involved m the claim to colonise. They prohibited all sales of fand to foreign powers nduoTdero vm ire tc.the Crown the.direction and control of the colonisation, they prohibited al private deSiS he Z vo £T ?Tf "^ beet\ and the llati^ B^j8ct to'thosef two restriction[he S o f hie natives to then lands, and their right to govern themselves, were recognised. To express thif more briefly, that winch was assumed in the outset was the external dominion, for it is in the nah re of Tuch a dominion that it can be assumed in a moment uaruie ot such A Proclamation in the London Gazette suffices. Notice is thereby given to foreign nations that such a portion of the earth's surface belongs to the Crown of England that BndSRi m-epared to hold it against the world It was necessary to assume this kind of dominion at once in ordefto pre vent foreign nations getting a footing in the territory intended to be colonised. The internal dominion hhu-e1111^^;, 1"* allP-f-'7^hing S withii/the territory should become Z&SToZZZ!>nv other wiy! as ludecd > » the nature of things, it could not be acquirelS 3. As the progress of colonisation gradually reached the territory of one tribe after another treaties were made from time to time with those tribes severally. These treaties were made not for the p un>o e «.i assuring to the tribes the dominion and ownership of their lands ; on the contrary, eveiy such cCtract assumed and presupposed that dominion and ownership. Those treaties were made only for the pS n IV< t h H g T rec°rcIlUf the, relatl0u thenceforward to subsist between the colonising power am/ the lain c tribe, the terms agreed on between the buyer and the seller of the land, the boundaries of the land to be ceded, and the like. About 230 treaties of this kind are printed in the United States << Statutes at Large," vol. vn. (Boston 1856.) The whole course has been 'consistently followed u, to the pre ent time in our remaining North American Colonies. In the New Zealand Debate June ls±5 33 Douglas thus stated the policy and practice of Great Britain in the Canadas: " There the'soi ha,bee obtained by compact with the Indians. Every part of the vast region now settled has bSn obtSed b regular conveyances and compacts from the native tribes. I have been a party to such compac s L { 4. In the first occupation of New South Wales (which indeed cannot be spoken of as colonisation ,u -,'vbichi t) P V FE£T*2 f? at Up0U tbe C0UrSe takeU in Australia were among the to p iSi C! P^ MDe?* Ot Eii S laiid to reconsider the whole subject of the relations of Enfland ro lov"; tl Y"!" Wi thl" the colonial possessions of the Crown, and finally to a determination ut tW ? S0U f" JU f 11101? 168, 011 whidl our carli^t and greatest Colonies had been founded But there was a special circumstance in the case of New Zealand which could not be disregarded The MnXnedan hTT 1 -SS F*?*" 1* °f N°W Zeala"d ' d b the view of otheSions h ad abandoned any right winch might have been grounded on the discoveries of Captain Cook It was not ZSiSJFJZS? °PeU. l0 h? m& Ba? t0 a8SUme that whidl had becu -l)ressly abandon^ I to t£Z^T eS7V!l drf ltr°, °n tam fy**?**™* compact the assent of the native population w , t ol,H fT f \ ?"? - h G? ycmmcnt m the land- B was also deemed to be 'expedient, GSiSSaS donSon 5^- thC natlVCS °11Ce (aS aS P 0-iWe)' -thin the protectioif of that left toVt'cm!;!. 11/ 0? Al^ ri' a t^e^ternal dominion was at once assumed, and the internal dominion kit to be acquired afterwards in such way and to such extent as might be defined by treaties to be ?,iSni r, 1 V HlrPr°' ? I1" 8- 0'80 f Ne" ZealaUd the attelUl't "■ ""* to squire II once both tlie internal and the external dominion by one treaty made once for all 5. e have seen that under the old system the native tribes stood as small but almost independent nations encompassed on every side by the dominion of a great nation. Such a system however tolerable when applied to the wide surface of the continent of North America, would live beei incon SrtUofb eSh'l mC f d *S r UeiT S in]i CH 0Cm^^ a sma11 C0UIlt; T- and necessar^y Lte . wS« niu S V ,s^ered throughout the country; and there were special considerations of justice and humanity which led_the Home Government to desire to establish in New Zealand some s2t^&sraa?* -***- •- -*« -dthe M s; TI| is. °'^ ect is prominently brought forward in the instructions issued by the Marquis of Normanby to Captain Sobson m August, 1839, when that officer was on the point of proceeding to New Zeakud and m Lord Glenelg's letter to Lord Durham ; from which I subjoin a few passages in Appendix No. 2 objectw^ez^y0^^"* 0"111011 H*son invited the natives to Jg the same with tSpS?7 Yi?- Oria{.°l the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, regarding with Her Eoyal favour the native chief, and tribes of New Zealand, and anxious to protect their iu.t rights and property, and to secure to them theenjoyment of peace and good order, ha adeemed it oeeessa^ in consequence of the great number of Her Majesty's subjects wL have already settled in \ w Zealand, and the rapid extension of emigration both from Europe and Australia which is still in \'^;iiri appoint a fonctionary properly authorised, to treat with the aborigines of th » SSS? ±O^ tllej:ecof 't'"u °J H^ Majesty's sovereign authority over the whole or anyWt of those mlands. Her Majesty, therefore, being desirous to establish a settled form of civil government with «i view to avert the evi consequences which must result from the absence of the necessafy laws and institutbns, alike to the native populations and to Her subjects, has been graciously pleased to empower and authorise me AV .ll.am Hobson, a Captain in Her Majesty's Eoyal Navy, Consul, and lliZ mT Governor of such parts of New Zealand as may be, or hereafter shall be, ceded to Her E t, nmte the confederated and independent chiefs of New Zealand to concuv in the following arcS'ud

5

CONFISCATION OF NATIVE LAIsDS.

E.—"No. 2.

In conformity with this intention, by the third and concluding article of the treaty : In consideration thereof, Her Majesty the Queen of England extends to the natives of New Zealand Her Eoyal protection, and imparts to them all the rights and privileges of British subjects " 7. It is plain that the framors of the treaty desired to bnng all the natives of these islands into the position of subjects of the Crown; but it is not to be conceived that they contemplated the introduction at once amongst the jNcw Zoalanders of the minute and technical forms" of English law • they regarded only the substance of the law; the substantial fruits of settled government; legal protection fo°r life ■ legal protection for property. The power winch accepts the position of a Sovereign, and promises to regard certain men as its subjects, does thereby undertake, at least, the duty of profe-thi" the lives and properties oi those men. This is a proposition, which, I think, no Englishman will question Such then, was our undertaking. • ' 8. We are not left to more inference on this point. Captain Hobson distinctly put the question in a letter ; m answer to which Lord Normanby instructed as follows (15 August, 1839) ■ " It is inraos Bible tor me to prescribe the course to be pursued for the prevention of cannibalism, human sacrifices and warfare among the native tribes ; but I have no difficulty in stating that, if all the arts of persuasion and kindness should prove unavailing, practices so abhorrent from the first principles of morality and so calamitous to those by whom they are pursued, should be repressed by authority, and if necessary bv actual force, within any part of the Queen's dominions." And shortly after the signing of the Treaty of tt aitangi, Lord John JRussell wrote thus to Governor Hobsou :— * } "At the same time you will look rather to the government welfare of the tribes now to be con nectet with us than their supposed chums to the maintenance of their own laws and customs When those laws and customs lead one tribe to fight with, and drive away, and almost exterminate another the Queen s sovereignty must be vindicated, and the benefits of a rule extending its protection to the whole community must be made known by the practical exercise of authority." (Parl. Pap.. U May, 8. — Belation of the Government to the Natives till 1853. .•o,mh-vlt \T Pkl n T 7 yfar? murt elapse before our colonisation should extend over the whole country. It was hoped in the outrot that by good management during those years the Natives would gJSS tber anr <*«« <*«*"'» sovereignty £ pl , u , ieal ei pieilt > of the i£gX5g tothemsehesfromit and so would come to an intelligent appreciation and acceptance of the new system of things The contrast seen and felt between the effects of lawlessness and law the manifest benefits of an order of things which should allow the natives to accumulate property and enjoy the fruits of their labour, would (it was hoped) wean them gradually from their old habits into ours until a more complete establishment of our system should become practicable. The Secretaries of .State had (as we have seen) not directed any actual and forcible exercise of authority, except n ye y strong cases, and where the common instincts of humanity would work in our favour Ihe work of collecting signatures to the Treaty 'of Waitangi was hasty and incomplete in the extreme. It was especially imperfect in the central districts of this island . The efforts of the new Governor were chiefly directed to the north, which at that time was the twelves 11^ ; t0 S e SOUt h ' ; vhT e V ie ,New ZeaIand Company's settlers were eTtablfshing themselves; and to the southern island, winch the French threatened to occupy. Subjects to iC Crown were to be gathered in from year to year, not by mere signatures, but by acts of practical assent, gradually growing into the habit of willing obedience to a power recognised as benS IWs.on was avoidei To let the authority of the Crown quietly gr^ in the "land wa, the great +1,p 11 2,V;l n u d T'^ th7J? cttacle ot' ou, r "^al t™ls did produce a great effect on the minds of all the natnes who witnessed them, or who heard the story of them as it was carried throughout the land laidy they thought oar procedure to be, and even cruel; but men accustomed to the indiscriminate vengeance of tribe against tribe were struck with awe at the sight of a system which slowly yet surely tracked out the single shedder of blood, and smote him alone. *The execution of Makctu was approvS ?" ] 7V VT, n t'!. e;, lortll > au? 0»Kst r 0WD lc ' ft wns "ot re8ented- **** "^ two years afterwards I met his father on the road from the Bay of Islands to the Waimate. My companions ere in advance of me, and had told him that I was the judge who presided at his son's trial. I Pe came up, shook hands with me, said not a word, and passed on. The principle that, in all cases when a crime was ,,,,, i:ll!tl ,d against a pakeha, the Governor might require the accused to be delivered up «„• In 1 as then accepted, hven Taraia, m complaining of the interference of the pakeha in a quarrel between two native tribes, admitted that principle. m™i£ iT °C' L'aSiOn I llC;,"' cl * di8CU88if U ' On the sllore of thc Kreilt kk> Eotorua, winch v-as | ' VI •" "'•" l) rCT C° f I"' 0 1 r doubt' but n0t b-v ailJ r wopd8 of !lli»c- Th« speaker contrasted 1SS n 1^ of the pakeha with a then recent war between Eotorua and Waikato in which some 500 lives had been lost, wnilst the murderer whose crime had caused the war was si ill livfcJ S. Jiut it is unnecessary to enter into detail. B I* is admitted on all sides that a great progress in the right direction was in fact made. One of words « 7lfS £ \T^ll h;l S r reeeil + tl>; descriBed thc Btate of things just ten years ago in the following words . In the year 18oS the Maori tribes were perfectly peaceful throughout the Colony. In 1860 SbTite fL.^JPW***™ .symptoms of disaffection, as well as its more immediate causes are G^ft^^bS::: ierymms period At the end °f the wi- 5wo s52ts nanilj^l f^ 7 "^ ™y be Called distl»ct.vely one of conciliation, but was not unaccompanied by the operations of active government. Ecsident magistrates were administering justice n native districts. Arms and warlike stores were denied to the aborigines. Land purchase operation? were conducted with great caution. Maori land was offered to Government more freely than fund"

6

PAPEES RELATIVE TO

E.— No. 2,

This may be. taken as a correct general statement, but it should be understood with this nullification, that a very large part of this inland still continued to be without the presence of anv office of the Queen, although even those portions of the island were indirectly affected for -ood. The °d.n!ni° trahon of justice in the resident.magistrates' eourts was serving as an example anleven asTmeSTra !£%?=££ MJyff* Some of thc more ad™lccd 3 [XeS SSK In the remoter parts there were occasional outbreaks of violence amongst thc native tribe, which peaceful n™ *"* t0 **""* h' "*** W ' but "*« to ct«* ■* terminate by ami +l t,i^i emai' k;lbl e Phat the SenSe 1 °^nationa% was e™ t]»eu beginning to stir amongst the people • and that tie project of setting up a long was even started and agitated, in the year 1852 by Matene te Whzwh,; but in the then state of men's minds his proposal didnot find acceptance. Sir George Grey's administration proTOd that the strong suspicions as to our intentions, which the natSe had frim the begmnmg enter amed-suspicious first awakened and manifested in the Harbour of SVdneV n 1S14 when Samuel Marsden was about to sail on his first voyage hither (Nicholas, vol i p 4fv? troth' SStSt Wa?" Bi-i "lthMte!- V brCaking f°rtfl in Heki' S northern'war-h P at tiio'sK% suspicions could by good management be quieted, so as to allow our colonisation a free and peaceaWi 'u'Stedtthe 0 1 r C'\ t0 TO"siderable V^ °f tllC nativ° Potion. » S .S suggested that the distrust or disaffection now so widely spread among the natives is to be traced to prejudices instilled into their minds by ill-disposed people/ Such persons were certainly not les« Turner ous during Sir George Grey's first Administration than at present. Thc fact is e atives tru "to 25b2£"E?ft m°re tb? any rCP °rtS °n of any pakehas. Such «" t.oublesone, but they are not dangerous to a Government which docs its duty. After that time it Wl act°uZ e "re b l 1 thf What + ,Sir Gc°rgtGl^ WaS d0ing with V* P*V* of succe nrtn,l,r yi a cof 1Ple*ely |>eeii done; that in so short a time we had acquired complete dominion, mte nal as well as external. Assertions to this effect have been made in a variety of ways, directly and d.rectly, m proclamations and m other public documents. I cite only the words addressed by Governor Browne to the natives assembled at Kohimarama (10th July 1SG0) • neonle shoJn^S^/ 61 MaJef aa u h" which makes it impossible that the Maori people should be unjustly dispossessed of their land or property. Every Maori is a member of the rSd^vtte o£ F °teCted FH 6 'Wne kW ™l? *KW5 -d it is^™. \,uZl t!% Q Z aS a Part °f el' °Wn especlal lu'°Ple that -^ ou haw heard from the lips of each successive Governor the same words of peace and good-will." In these assertions the Executive no Zrtf t supported by the authority of the judges of the Supreme Court. There can be no X rV" 6 "mV , T" 1 thV ntenlal ■! Wdl aS the Csternal dom^ion of this island ; that the native theSim^ 0- I 6 rC";T aS, SU ? Ct • ° the J Cr0WU °f E "Slaild i and thc™ «m be as little doubt that om-, Tf T£ kT thu S ma ke (if wisely and reasonably acted upon) is as much for their good as for be—Sh V "Yl the Crown they must be subject to some law j for the Crow/has never to wh2 fllw? Eughslunen othonvlse tliau »« a Power acting according to settled usage and law ; but Under the single Sarereignty of the Queen of England there are many systems of law. Within Groat Britain itself, the Scottish system differs from the English; even within England itself, there are many peculiar customs or laws (such as, for example, the copyhold tenure, and the manifold varieties of ocal custom wrthm that tenure) which differ from the com.non law of England, yet are of fdlfor e and 0 u ffi»5S 0WD 1r mdS' c Ll °Ur Iudmn l)Osse83ions> races of men, under dirers systems ot law, dwell together under one Sovereign. /•««« »i ,,,vlie r\f nal thCOry i "PI)ears t0 ,lmVe I 6** 1 tllis' Hial Woodshed was to be suppressed to that extent, at any rate thc criminal law was to be enforced, but that, in other respects, the natives were to be left to their own usage, lhus much we have found in the instructions of the Secretaries of State ■ and it f.';'- n ' ;•" erTf * f lcl;P° rH<r .* «» <^f^ ** were to bo introduced when, and in so tar as practicable, that property also might be protected by the Crown as well as life How much further than this can we go ? 8. At this point many questions arise, which connect themselves with the main subject of our inquiry. In particular, this question presents itself: How far are our lands holden by persons of the Crown ? a°e according to native tenure, subject to the English rule of forfeiture to the 1 m 1 \ hC\ Pf 6 , S, tand8 f . tlm! : no nati™ ca'i »' MIJ W»y enforce any right of ownership or occupation of and held by the native tenure, in the courts of the Colony. The native is excluded from the- political franchise even in cases where there is in fact, a right of individual occupation, on the ground that his right whatever it might be, is not in the technical sense a "tenement." The native owner receives in respecj o such lands from our legal system no protection ; from our political system no privilege Is He subject to the severest penalty imposed by our system, that of forfeiture ? 0. A kindred question also arises here, namely : " Is the Colonial Assembly competent to deal with .such lands, the owners being excluded from any participation in the electoral franchise? How far can the Colonial Assembly lawfully exercise, in respect of such lands, a function similar to that which undoubtedly belongs to thc Imperial Legislature, though it is in practice very cautiously and cons.derately exercised by that Legislature even over those who are directly represented therein-I mean the right of taking the land of the subject for purposes of national defence, or other purposes of national concern ? A like right is now claimed and proposed to be exercised by the' Colonial Assembly over the lands of persons not represented therein. Moreover, it is intended (as it seems) to exercise such a power in an unlimited and discretionary way, not only for <;he establishment of military posts or villages but generally for the dispossession of thc natives and the location of immigrants, wherever the Government may please, within such districts as the Government may have pronounced to be in a state of

7

CONFISCATION OF NATIVE LANDS.

E.—No. 2

rebellion. The power to take the land without the consent of the native owners is now, for the first time, claimed by the Colonial Assembly ; and the intention to exercise such a power is avowed not only m eases where treasonable acts may be proved, but also in cases where no such acts may be proved Fn which latter cases there is clearly no ground for asserting that the native owners have disclaimed or repudiated the benefit of the assurances so repeatedly given in the name of the Crown in all parts of the country that land should not be taken without the consent of the owners. It is material also to remember that no announcement of a contrary purpose was over made until after the present'troubles had arisen, and after our troops had entered oh Maori land, and then it was made by the Executive Grovermnent alone, without any sanction from the Legislature or from the Crown. 10. These questions must be left to be finally settled at home. It may, probably he found neces sary to resort to the Imperial Parliament in order that they may be conclusively disposed of so us to bind all subjects ot the Crown. " * 1 ' Whatever be the ultimate decision on these points, it is obvious that the natives, being British subjects, cannot be m a worse position in this respect than other subjects; cannot bo subject to a more strict or severe rule than other subjects. It follows, then, that the 'lands of the natives cannot in any case pass to the Crown other than by some one of the modes by which the lands of a British subiect may pass, as indicated m tho outset of these remarks. SUDject 11. Leaving now on one aide all questions of strict law, I proceed to other considerations not to be disregarded by any reasonable man, as affecting the extent to which the rule of law, whatever ir ■• - be, should in practice be carried out; for every thoughtful man will see that the case of subjects over whom sovereignty has been acquired so recently and exercised so imperfectly, is practically very different &£^dSSdSSJL d ailanCiCnt m°mrChy riSiHg agaiMt which has been These considerations need to be distinctly stated, because "they are, to many amongst us almost wholly unknown, and because they appear to bo imperfectly apprehended, even by many of our' public v i W 1 hal t i 0VCr 1 th? relation. between .Sovereign and subject may be defined to be in this case of New Zealand, the relation must in tins, as in all other cases, be a mutual one If the Sovereign power has rights, it must also have duties; if the duties undertaken by the Sovereign kvebeen fully performed the Sovereign may claim a strict performance of the duties of to subject. If it has failed or been unable to perform them, it should deal less rigidly with its subjects This is a principle of natural equity, which I suppose all will admit. J 1 his being so, let us inquire how much was done (in the interval of time to which Mr Crosbie Ward refers in the above cited passage) by way of practical assertion of that soverekntv—bv wav of practical discharge of the duties involved in the undertaking to be Sovereign. " '' 4—Eelation of the Government to the Natives generally, from 1853 to 1861. 1. Nearly at the close of the period now under review, Governor Browne recorded his views of Native affairs in a memorandum dated 25th of May, 1861, in which 1 find the fb < w ,t t.teiv , t "Some of the most populous districts, such as Ho%ga and Kaipara, have no mSlSSdent amongst (hem, and many such as at Taupo, the Ngatiruanui, Taranaki. and the country about the Ea t Cape, have never been visited by an officer of the Government. The residents in these districts have never felt that they are the subjects of the Queen of England, and have little reason to think that the Government of the Colony cares at all about their welfare." And further, " Li New Zealand, the Government is and always has been unable to perform its «luty for want of a sufficient number of agents trained and qualified for the service requi red of te,, " And further that "unless the Native Department be entirely remodelled, the Govcrnmc, "'will S£££** Part m e8tabli8hing hl*titUti0"S thC "^ ™> OT M» S 3 . . J* hilPP('»«l, during the latter period of 1858 and the earlier part of 1859, that not less than three intertribal wars were going on at one time in one district of this island, the Bay of Plenty, practically S^ubbv'pajer? Y Government, a state of things which at that time was little 1 noticed m 2. Unfortunately^ whilst tie Quean's sovereignty was not manifested through the greater nart of tho island m the beneficial exercise of its proper function of protecting life and property Ttva" on stantly presenting itself in all parts m the exercise of one accidental function naturally' ten<W to produce jealousies and disputes amongst the natives and dissatisfaction with the Government lhe function of land buying (not at the best a dignified one for the Crown) had, however been made a means of quietly extending the influence of the Government, so long as that function was e^ Cised with great prudence and care, and with due regard to the interests of the natives But t n" J readily be understood (without entering further into the subject) how different St be the eflt tlf another sort of management If the pakeha was very keel, to buy, and not p^crfariy careful o scrupulous as to the mode of buying; if the inquiry made into the title of the sellerTasUS and scanty and money was freely paid ; it will be easily understood that there would be many Maodsfo d ready to sell-not always sound titles, which all sellers are rather apt to keep to the last but y kind of claim, however remote, or disputed, or unsound. ' y •n ?ral^«" U bf f? und *; n °. desiring for some purpose lhe countenance of the Colonial Government will be indiftcrent about the risk of embroiling their own people with that Government It": Wr^ HlZ %Tr 1°"' gS !lS ![ 1CSC a Wh°1e P°PaMon A be disquieted and irritated to the last degree. Yet so little feeling was there in some quarters about a system which was tormenting and exasperating the nativesi on a sides, that this unworthy practice even acquired a jocular name l" Su called laying a ground bait." J ' '-h & I need not dwell much on the mischiefs of a system which has been practically condemned by

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the General Assembly m passing the " Native Lands Act, 1862 ;" which has introduced another mode The Native Minister (Mr. P. D Bell), on moving the second reading, said, " Sir, it is vain to hope hat you will revive the native confidence in you by the mere offer of political institutions You may stimulate the political, activity of village ranangas, but unless you can at the same time secured attachment of the native people by some bond of common interest, and prove that this bond is the best guarantee or their own prospenty and wealth, you have done little towards brid^L the ff ulf that separates the civilized man and the barbarian. The grievance they complain of i s ,°that tie nfore land they S ell the more they become impoverished. This arises simply and naturally from the one great mistake we have made in always trying to give them the least price they would accept for their land in order that we might ourselves get the greatest price we could by its sale. If you h P ad said at the com mencement that the Crown would obtain the native land on a plan to secure the advancement of the race, you would have had no distrust or dissatisfaction in the native mind; but by always buying from them on the pretence tha you wanted land for the purpose of colonisation; without making pro^vkTon (at least in the North Island) for their own improvement, you have at last brought the natives to believe that your real object is to impoverish and degrade them " 4. Mr Mantell (formerly Native Minister) is reported to have said that " this Bill simply proposed to give to the natives the right we guaranteed to them by the treaty of Waitangi. Since that time we had managed to surround that ownership with so many qualifications, that de facto we had deprived them of any interest m those lands. This question lay at the very root of the differences between ourselves and the natives, which were the curse of New Zealand. Hitherto the negociations of the Government for the native lands had been conducted on no principle at all. Of course the officers felt tf ?4^ Pi aT M, ?°? u M P°ssible> and for as little as possible. To that he attributed all the difficulty which now troubled us. As a Commissioner for extinguishment of native title he soon perceived it was a very dirty business, which he would never have entered upon had he known its nature beforehand, and one which had been at the bottom of all our unfriendly relations with the _ 5. The effect of this course of proceeding on our part was to drive the Maoris to some joint action m their own defence What that was, I leave the Maori to state in his own words. See extracts from Eenatas Letters to the Superintendent of Wellington (23 July, 1361), and to the Superintendent of Hawkes Bay (February, 1861), in Appendix No. 3. 6. Arrangements had been formerly made to provide for the future interests of the native sellers and to give them some continuing benefit out of the transfer of their lands. Even these which should have been sources of attachment and confidence, became causes of irritation and distrust The sellers had stipulated to receive a Crown title for those reserved portions, by virtue of which they mi<rht let those lands on lease, or otherwise dispose of them as they pleased; and promises were made by the Government to that eflect. J _ But it happened ih.it in numerous instances such promises remained unfulfilled durin^ the whole period from 1853 to 1862. ° In the single Province of Wellington there were not less than 22 such cases. (Appendix 1862 ) Mr. Crosbie Ward has condensed into a single sentence enough to account for much of the existing distrust, and of the troubles that spring out of it. b " Promises (he says) of hospitals, schools, further payments out of the proceeds of land-sales, and other advantages which had been made to the natives when they ceded their land, were forgotten or disregarded." (page 33.) b • " 1 o0rg »r,t^ n i °r disr PgardecV suc}l tllin S s might be by us, but were they likely to be so by the natives? Which party is the more apt to forget? That which is confident of its strength, or that which knows itself to be the weaker, and that its only real security is in the good faith of the stronger ? Can we wonder that when Sir George Grey, shortly after his return to the Colony, proceeded to confer with the chiefs of Waikato, and to hold out certain advantages to all who should enter into his plans, he was met by the suggestion, that there was little security for the performance of his promises ■ that another Governor would come, and then the new promises would be disregarded, just as the old ones had been? J 7. I may notice, in passing, a point which has been occasionally put forward as a proof of our o- rea t .attention to the interests of the natives, namely, the enactments passed from time to time relating to the administration of land m native cases, or native districts ; I should be sorry to deny the value of some of those enactments, but it should be bornS in mind that the practical operation of such of them as had been passed before the commencement of the period now under review, was during this period so limited as to have little effect beyond the boundaries of the English settlements • 'and under the Acts passed in 1858 for constituting native districts and native circuit courts, only two such districts were constituted, the Mangonui District, and the Bay of Islands District, so that those Acts had no operation beyond the northern extremity of this island. 8. Having sketched the relation of our Government or non-government, to the native population in genera], I proceed to consider the same subject in reference to the two districts which have become the principal seats of disaffection and disturbance ; first, Taranaki, and then Waikato. Here as before I confine myself to the period which has been under review hitherto, namely, the period to which Mr' ■Crosbie Ward has assigned (I think correctly) the causes and growth of disaffection. 5.—Eelation of the Colonial Government to.the District of Taranaki. 1. In the August of 1854, a feud broke out in the neighbourhood of New Plymouth, which continued to rage for five years until September 1859. I have no intention to enter into the details of that miserable story; but it is necessary to state clearly the origin of the feud ; for which purpose I will borrow the words of Colonel Nugent's Eeport on the subject to the Government. " From inquiry I

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found that the first affray, in which Bawiri, the native assessor, one of the most respected natives of the Fuketapu tribe, and six others (were killed), by Katatore, partly arose from Eawiri attempting to cut the boundary of a piece of land which he had offered for sale to Mr. Gh Cooper, the Land Commissioner of the laranata district. It appears that Katatore had, long ago, stated his intention of retaining this land, and had threatened to oppose anyone who should offer to sell it ; Eawiri, however, on account of some quarrel with Katatore, proposed selling the land, and was desired by Mr. Cooper to cut the boundary. J v " Eawiri proceeded accordingly, with 22 others, on the morning of the third of August last and had succeeded m cutting some part of the boundary line, when Katatore and party rushed down from his pa, and, after warning Eawiri twice, without effect, to desist, fired and killed him and six others • lour were severely wounded, and four slightly wounded." "I fear that further bloodshed may be expected , and as unfortunately it has arisen about a land question Katatore will have all the sympathy of those who are opposed to the sale of land The relations and friends of the deceased Chief Eawiri, who are principally resident within the settlement and for°thTdS,f^p n5e!^ "' " bei"g " foV0Ur '"'tlK' Sa'° °f land ' ar° determi-dt0 1— --nge 2. Unfortunately it happened that this feud during its course was aggravated by unwise acts and violent language on the part of some of our people; a course which could only render the Maoris more apprehensive of evil to themselves, and more determined to stand aloof from us. Seo Colonel Nugent s Despatch, dated 20th September, 1855—(Parliamentary Paper, July 1860, p. 143). 8. In a letter written a few days after that date, Mr. Eiemenschneider (a minister of the Lutheran Church, resident in the midst of the Taranaki tribes), reported to the Native Secretary the state of feeling among the natives of his district. He stated that " any intervention by military force i,the feud would be generally viewed as the first step in a general and grand movement on the part of the Government to dispossess the natives by physical force of their inherited soil; which if once permitted by the latter to be successfully entered upon by the former, would most certainly be proceeded with and be earned out through the whole length and breadth of the island, until every inch of land would have passed away from the native owners into the hands of the Europeans, and the aboriginal inhabitants of the country themselves would have been totally exterminated *' '.' £ hu? fu% (he ad.ds) the whole case has repeatedly been argued before me, during the last aboutt Taranak, district, and there can be no doubt that they are in earnest " T'lc .mo!* sober a, lld <luie% disposed amongst them declare, in a manner not to bo mistaken that they will rise, because they feel convinced that it will be necessary for the defence and preservation of theirs" possessions, against a system of violence and oppression threatening them and 4. From that time until July, 1859, the deadly feud was going on. In the course of this time in the month ot January, 1858, Katatore himself was waylaid and murdered. This was a murder of ™enge,and one which we : might have punished, without seeming to be fighting for a piece of land Kbr £v 1S-T" 1 rf f™? l'T bterferi^. "*»*& - proclamation m the following moS' JB-ebruarjr, 1858. That proclamation warned the natives against assembling with arms within the boundaries of b certain district The proclamation was accompanied by an official connnent in the M^ri Messenger which, alter explaining the reasons of our non-interference, proceeded thus —« WhUo mdulguig this hope we are startled by the news of another and more frightful murder. Blood is spilt on land which the Queen has granted. This cannot be allowed to pass in silence. The Governor has therefore spoken his word He still says, ' I shall not interfere. Both parlies are doing wrong fcutit Endi hTetile'S- "wT Si k? T™* dther ' ffl ** k4 ««* SB of the fighting in my present" °" "■*** *° W>m° within these Wite. I will not permit 5- Tlie effect of this state of things on the natives may be gathered from the letter of Eitatona Te aw it. ji\.j)pcn(iiXj IN o. 4.) KvJil 7T T'\T °f ±hef u C01ltinued trmM™ were most disastrous to the native interests. The ISgat uroa tribe had been one of the most industrious and thriving in New Zealand " In 1854 Williim Kings tribe possessed 150 horses, 300 head of cattle, 40 carts, 35 ploughs 20 pairs ofNarrows' S winnowmg machines, and 10 wooden houses." (Dr. Thompson, New Zealand; volt p 224 )/ u 1858 K * llnTth^T T K° f P r°8perity ''a; 1 ■ paSSI d aWa>'; fra"mentH °f thrashing machine.s were seen 5 *+»^ hostile encainpment, cultivations Dmr^SSft^ 8 t0 PaSS that thr°Ugh five year8 °f d0adl-V Strife 'the Quecn'8 sovereignty was Thc|° WM. nothing to show that it was a reality ; a power able and willin- to protect life or nro perty. In saying this, I have no intention to cast blame upon any one. It would be«4 ill u e to mile of our present troubles to find in then means for assailing the characters of public men In focTaU such considerations wonld lead us away from the point to which alone I am look n' winch t not the comparative merit, of our public men in our eyes/but the way in which our Administeation 'taken as a whole, must have presented itself in the view of the natii ee." nitration, taKen as All that I wish to be noticed and remembered is the fact itself. These were the very cases which in the beginning of our colonization, had been specified by the .Secretaries of State a l^le* t which the SIS Llus Uno IT J b0U"d. t0 WheU thG tim° ™ th0 Government dW no? mteitoie. Let us not therefore criminate men who endeavoured to do the best under very difficult c rcumstauces ; who did not interfere only because they did not judge it possible to interfere witSt Zd d nf t I Df0V CqU, lef ed, m • f 0, 01'^8 Which WM a great calamity for both races. At a yrate we did not act. If so, let us honestly admit that to have been the case. "Let us not so on tacitlv assuming, or even broadly asserting, that we have throughout fully performed oar pi Let £s ayow^

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that the work we have undertaken in the beginning was, after a time, found to be a larger and more arduous work than we had supposed, and that we did, in fact, give up the attempt to perform it Let us not take a onesided view of the case. Let us not ignore the fact that the power of the Queen's ■ovcreignty was not exerted for the benefit of these people. Can we, then, in the name of the Sovereign enforce against them the extreme obligations of subjects ? Can we visit them with the heaviest penalties for disregard of an authority which has not itself fully performed its own undertaking ? I dwell on tins point because of a fallacy very current amongst us at this time. Much is said and written about re-esiablishuig the Queen's authority or the authority of law throughout this island whereas, the truth is that, m the greater part of this island, the Queen's authority has never at any time been established m any real or practical sense. J 7. To resume my sketch. The feud at last wore itself out, and peace was made between the tribes A few months after that military force was employed at the Waitara, in a case unconnected with crime' Ihe Queen s power, which had not interfered to save men's lives or their property, did interfere to take possession of apiece of land. Vi hen military operations ceased at the Wairara, the Government retained possession of the land which had been occupied by the soldiers outside the disputed block announcing at the same time, an mtention of restoring it to the native owners, subject to certain regulations! That outside piece has, in the issue, bred even more trouble to the Colony and to England than the original block.itself Ihe original block.had at any rate, been occupied under a claim of purchase; but the retention of the.land outside of that block, the southern tribes (and other tribes too) appear to have regarded as an indication of the purpose of the pakeha to take land by force. So, out of the English land which they had occupied m the course of the hostilities, they retained possession of the portion nearest to them, namely, the Tataraimaka block. This was the state of things in the Taranaki district at the close of the period now under review. 6.—Relation of the Government to "VVaikato. 1. During that unhappy period of fierce intertribal warfare at Taranaki. the king movement was growing up m Waikato. Ihe authors of it " expressed no disaffection towards the Government but urged the necessity ot maintaining peace, order, and good government in the country which "thev argued, the Governor was unable to do. ' I want order and laws,' Thompson said ; ' a king could give these better than the Governor. The Governor never does anything except when a pakeha is killed. We arc allowed to fight, and kill each other as wo please. A king would end these evils ' " Pao»said:" God is good; Israel was his people; they had a king. I see no reason why any nation should not have a king it it likes. The gospel does not say we are not to have a king • it savs ' Honour the king ; love the brotherhood ' Why should the Queen be angry ? we shall be in alliance' with her ami friendship mil be preserved. The Governor does not stop murders and fights among us ■ a king will be able to do that. Let us have order, so that we may grow as the pakeha grows Why should we disappear from the country ? New Zealand is ours ; 1 love it."—(Buddie King Movement page 9.) To all, Taranaki appeared to furnish an obvious proof of the truth of what was urged by the leaders of the movement, and of the necessity of making some effort to save themselves 2. In the month of April, 1857, Governor Browne visited the Waikato district On the 9th Mav he reported to the Duke of Newcastle the result of his observation of the state of things " It was clear that they (the natives) did not understand the term 'king' in the sense in which we use it • but although they certainly profess loyalty to the Queen, attachment to myself, and a desire for the amaka mation of the races, they did mean to maintain a separate nationality, and desired to have a chi'efof their own election, who should protect them from every possible encroachment on their rights md uphold such of their customs as they were disinclined to relinquish. This was impressed upon me e'verv where ; but only on one occasion at Waipa, did any one presume to speak of their intended king as a sovereign having similar rank and power with Her Majesty ; and this speaker I cut short leaving him in the midst of his oration." b " The objects of a large section of the natives were distinctly expressed at the great meeting at Paetai on the 23rd April, 1857, at which the Governor was present, and at which it was understood bv them that his Excellency promised to introduce amongst them institutions of law founded on the principle of self-government, analogous to British institutions, and presided over by the British Govern ment," " I was present," says the Eev. Mr. Ashwell, referring to that meeting, ""when Te Wharenu Paehia, with Potatau, asked the Governor for a magistrate, laws, and runangas, which he assented to • and some of the natives took off their hats and cried ' Hurrah.' " (Eeport of the Waikato Committee.' 1860, p. 2.) ' In the proposal then made and accepted lay all that we could desire. It needed only to be heartily and wisely followed up to secure to the Government the guidance and control of the' whole movement. 3. Nor did the chiefs of Waikato make only general proposals. They invited co-operation also on specific points. Amongst other things they had set themselves vigorously to check drunkenness amongst their people; and with no small success. There was, in fact, a marked and painful contrast in that respect between the state of the central district under its own management, and that of the northern under ours. Pines had been levied to a considerable amount, about £110, but only as far as Mr Gorst could ascertain, from persons who had expressly agreed to be bound by the system.' An old man the treasurer of the fund, brought the money to Auckland, and desired the Government to keep it safe until the use to be made of it should be determined. The chiefs found themselves hampered in their proceedings by the fact that the pakehas resident in the district could not be restrained by them from selling spirits to the natives. In consequence, in July, 1859, letters were sent from Waikato to Auckland praying the Government to put a stop to the importation and sale of spirits in the Waikato Amongst the signatures (irore than 400) were the names of Thompson, Matntaera, and the leading men of the king party. The Native Department, the responsible Ministers, and the Governor agreed in thinking that the thing could be lawfully done, under the Native Districts Act, 1858, and that it ought to be done

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Accordingly, answers were sent to the effect that the request should be complied with • but nothing further was done. In November, 1861, Mr. Gorst, who had been appointed resident magistrate of the district, becoming acquainted with the matter, urged the chiefs to write to tho Government which they declined to do, saying they had been deceived, and that it was useless to write. Upon this Mr Gorst supported by William Thompson, applied to the Government, and the desired Order in Council was made (lGth December, 1861) but the grace and the political benefit of the co-operation had been lost _ 4. During the Waitara troubles Thompson did his utmost to prevent his people from taking any active part in them, but in vain. After a time he was induced to proceed himself to Taranaki and to Withdraw the Waikatos ; wmch he succeeded in doing, hoping thereby to terminate the strife Thereupon the Government took advantage of his success to withdraw the troops from Taranaki and to transfer them to the Waikato. Upon this Thompson was exceedingly sore, and even began to suspect that the friends whose advice he had followed had joined in misleading him. Then came the manifesto addressed to Waikato, in May, 1861, the details of which it is unnecessary to consider. The substance of it was a demand that the natives should make at once an unreserved Burremler of all they had done for themselves, and be content to receive in exchange vague assurances of some good to be done for them hereafter by a power which had, up to that time, done next to nothing and in whose promises they had ceased to trust. b' The result was, what such a document could not but produce at such a time and in such a state of men's minds, an increased bitterness and exasperation. 7.—Our present Position and Policy. 1 If we could put ourselves in some degree in the place of the Maori, and regard from his point of yiew the course of things which I have briefly reviewed, we should have less difficulty in understandiue how it is that amongst a people, not less shrewd than ourselves, there has grown up"a conviction that our policy is selfish and oue-sided, and that their only safe course is to have as little as possible to do with us beyond trading in our markets. l That much good work has been done for the benefit of this race no Maori would deny though he would probably attribute it as much to the religious bodies as to the Government. But good work of undone CalmOt SUPply tk° plaeC of good work of auotlier kind which has been left Schooling cannot be a substitute for material comfort and wealth. They are not attached to our system, because it has presented so little to be attached to. It has secured to them no permanent Tnd substantial share of the benefits of our colonization. 2. How important this consideration is,—how much might have been effected by a fairer and less selfish course of proceeding on our part, may be inferred by the facts before our eyes. If we see that a part of the natives, who by virtue of irregular and illegal contracts with the settlers have become possessed of wealth, are thereby led to valae a connexion with the pakeha, and to trust hi, promises ud (though naturally not without a certain sympathy with their countrymen) are indispose Take ay active part in the quarrel; such a result ought to lead us to see and allow for the defects of or o fd system and to take a more considerate view of the case of that larger portion of the native population which, by not disobeying our law, has been shut out from the sources of material prosperity and contentment, llius, too, tue Government has failed to provide for itself that " material guarantee " of which we hear so much just now, in its only trustworthy shape; the same guarantee as all good and wise Governments trust to, namely, the wealth and prosperity of their subjects o. .Let us honestly art ourselves these questions:—How far is the loyalty of Englishmen to their Government connected with a sense of the benefits secured to them by that LverWent?How W does the oyalty of any European nation last towards its Government, however ancient and TenlrabTc? when that Government has ceased to secure those substantial benefits to its subjects ? At last we have made an attempt to retrieve our position by the "Native Lands Act " an Act SSttwS&SSiSS T* 1 aml alm°St *******& »*» - —« of the'country, But this measure had not come into operation when tho present troubles be^an 1 should not have spent many words on this point, but for the language which is often heard in A which is used with evident honesty by many ill-informed people amongst u^Wny should the Maoris distrust us it is asked. In return it may be asked, « Is not a distrust of the wielcL of power one of the most habitual feelings amongst ourselves ?" What is our whole system-House of Commons trial by jury, municipalities, newspapers-but one elaborate manifestation of this feeling P How can we vast"" nfnf 7 S^S t0 J" fre? fT ** towards the stranSe ™»> whose W ?hey see to be lo labt'f d of whose disposition towards themselves they feel so little assured? *rom acts and omissions of the Government, from translations of local papers from the words and demeanour of private persons, they form the best estimate they can of our i, tentionWo m!y be sure S£S5SE?toSftf- ™d*»P + which leada — -ith few rifles, withoutbayZts! and wmiout aitiuery, to stand up in opposition to our power Maori £ttft h l7 thG Govcf lor at TauPari> soo» "tor return, that the name of the Maori King should not bo made a cause of war, greatly diminished the excitement of the native mind tion^Surknd TtH 25 Onil? e* « ( so ff, as I know) "J™?*™ of an outbreak, until the resump- ? Tf T at latarannaka when Bewi and his section of the Maniapoto determined to renew the tv ar. If I am rightly informed, ho came with his followers into central Waikato, and proposed to the tribS

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there to join him in an attack on the tort at the la, as a beginning of the renewed conflict, which they ,or at least the majority ot them, declined to do. So he was forced to abandon that plan Shortly after whiri°hi lto 1Wifka 1to aPP1' US1°n °f aU attaCk ' Wlli°h WM U° loa Ser contemplated, crossed the Mangata6. Though these two years have not saved us from another civil war, yet they have made a material change.in our position for the better. We are stronger, because we are avenging bloodshed ; and the Waikato confederation is weaker, because it has become plain that the so-called kino- i 3 ( as Thompson Tfv^f 7° a Tu *%?"£». has U0 P°wor t0 rebukc evil-doers, and to prevent crime /and also that the whole affair of the kingship is likely to lead to nothing but trouble. The Maoris believed their countrymen to oe wholly in the right in the former contest. There is no such" .'cnerxl conviction now Public opinion is a great power amongst the Maoris as amongst ourselves 13 This conflict has not been desired or brought about by the Maori race, but by a small and turbulent minority chiefly belonging to one tribe. J 7. To sum up the whole, our local adversary is Eewi, and his section of the Maniapoto together with so many as by a variety of reasons are induced to join him ; our general adversary is the distrust so widely spread m the miud of the native population. What Mr. Gorst wrote in June 1862 is eauallv true now. • ' <=H uall.y "The Maori king is kept up by a feeling of distrust and opposition to the English Government • but it is the existence ot this distrust, not its manifestation in the form of the Maori king, that is dangerous JSren if the Maori king had never been thought of, the moment that a question arose which brought the interests of one race into prominent antagonism with those of the other, some sort of organization must have been invented to give unity to the Maori side ; it is hardly possible that anything could have been invented weaker than the king. As it was, the king, being already in existence, was seized upon for the purpose, and has grown to his present dimensions and formidable aspect subsequently to anil I believe in consequence of the Taranaki war. This danger is a formidable one, but would not be removed by tte destruction of the king, though his being voluntarily abandoned by the Maoris would be a sira tliat it had ceased to exist To secure safety, we must cure the disease, uot stop its symptoms • we must remove the distrust, not Matutaera." x . I ™f^ tha* Mr- ,Gorst is not llow in the land, as I know that he would be able to testify after seeing Waikato in both the better and the worse mood, to the reality and depth of the fear and distrust there entertained as to our purposes, and to his conviction of the readiness with which they would accept our law, if only they could feel it safe to do so. J 8"t at, the n1 is ™ur tone aud fittin S l? olkT. whereby we may overcome not only our local but our general difficulty ? If it be true, and a deliberate review of the whole connexion between the two races forces me to believe it true, that the natives have not Mien short of their part in the original contract more that we (who understood it better) have of ours ; that they have not, as a nation sinned more against us than we, the superior and protecting power, have against them; if this be so then the course which it becomes us to take is plain. After proving the extent of our power, and the folly of resistance on their part, it will be our business to show that we intend to use that power, neither vindictively nor selfishly, but as becomes a great, generous, and Christian nation; a nation which is enlightened enough to see in the distrust of an intelligent people an indication rather of its own shortcomings than of their infatuation and is more willing to reform its administration than to destroy its subjects. 9. Every plan which may bo proposed for terminating our present troubles must be estimated by its fitness to secure the end, which all alike profess to aim at, or rather, I should say, to open a way by which that end may be reached. For that which all acknowledge to bo the real end, namely the establishment of law and order throughout this island, the substitution of a willing obedience on the Dart of the natives in lieu of the present distrust aud fear, is obviously one which cannot be reached by war but .only by wise legislation and careful administration after the war. No policy which shall leave behind it the seeds of another civil war, which shall tend to augment instead of removing distrust can be the true policy for us. Solely by its fitness to secure this great end, and not by any reference to local or limited interests, must every proposed policy be judged. Not must we measure our policy by reference to those natives only who are now in arms in Waikato but to all who in all parts of the island are watching for the issue of this contest and endeavouring thereby to discern our real motives and purposes. If at the close of the present conflict the Government shall retain not only such lands as it shall be judged necessary to hold as military positions m order to secure the Colony against like troubles hereafter (aud that upon payment of proper com' pensation in cases where the right to compensation may not have been legally forfeited) but if we also proceed to seize land for other purposes, and for such purposes oust from their lands persons who have done us no wrong it is to be apprehended that we shall appear to be breaking our promise as soon as we are strong enough to do so, and to be making the punishment of crime and the establishment of law a pretext tor getting land; and if so, that we shall be sowing the seed of fresh troubles and shall not be brought by all this burdensome and costly war to the attainment of our o-reat end It M often urged that the natives ought to bo made to pay the cost of this civil war Howeror applu-aolc such a principle may be to the case of an ordinary war between two independent nations it does not appear to be applicable to the case of the present civil war, or to the peculiar relation subsisting between the Queen and her native subjects. We, before the world, and to the natives themselves avowed that in establishing British authority in New Zealand, we had for our object (in part at least) tne benefit and advantage of the native race. A great nation voluntarily took upon itself a sort of guardianship over a small and uncivilised nation. Under such circumstances, it appears to me to be for the iunour ot England to avoid even the appearance of being actuated by self-seeking motives . 10 „A. formep Native Minister (Mr. Eichmond) stated his opinion as to the policy to be pursued m native affairs in these words : " The fears of the natives can be calmed, and the peace of the country secured, only by a policy which sincerely seeks not theirs but them." That was a fine application of the .apostolic words. Moreover, it was, I firmly believe, a correct statement of the only policy which can

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heal the troubles of this island; but the policy so recommended bears no great resemblance to that winch we are now invited to enter upon. Let us bear in mind that the whole train of events of late years has iiot appeared to the Maoris to show such a disposition on our part as Mr. Biehmond's words express but the (■(jut rary, that, if it is to be shown at all, this is our opportunity. ' 11. Even yet we have not gained the position which we claimed" for ourselves in the beeinnina W e are not yet asserting for the Queen her true position as the equal and impartial judge and avenger ctaUcnmeB committed in the land, but we are avenging a crime against the pakeha, undone which ia not unconnected with the late strife, let, though our present position is not all that it should be it is our wisdom not to throw it away, but rather to make it a step towards something better We 'have already damaged it by our indefinite threats of seizure of land. But the natives in this as in other case?, will look to what we really do in the end, more than to what wo now talk of doin<r • to our deeds more than to our words. " ' 12 It should he borne in mind that, whatever may be decided at home to be the liability sf the native landowners, no law on the subject has ever been" laid down in the Colony. That the first intimation of an intention to take land was given in the Proclamation, which was dated on the 11th of July last but which was not actually published to the natives until the 14th, our troops having entered the Waikato territory early on the morning of the 12th. 18. The example of Ireland may satisfy us how little is to be effected towards the quieting of a country by the confiscation of private land; how the claim of the dispossessed owner is remembered from generation to generation, and how the brooding sense of wrong breaks out from time to time in fresh disturbance and crime. If we really succeed in attaining our great object in preparing the way for law and so converting the noin.nal sovereignty of the Queen into a reality, such a change in our circumstances wffl be an en 1 ■valeiit tor a very considerable cost. 4 14 Moreover, it is just and right to discriminate between the various sections of the Waikato population, who are at this moment in arms, and to inquire whether the rebellious or treasonable character is o be imputed to all alike. This is to be done, as a matter of course, in dealing w subjects of the Crown; but it becomes in this case especially necessary, from the habit so common amongst us ot confounding the various sections of the population which occupies the re-ion of the Waikato and AV aipa, under one common name of Waikato. The real source of our troubles is in the tribe of Maniapoto especially m that section of the tribe of which Eewi is the chief, whose proper district lies near the head of lie Waipa, about abreast of Kawbiaj amongst the natives themselves that tribe fc sometimes included in Waikato, by reason of a common descent from the same ancestors /some imes distinguished from Waikato, as not being locally settled ou that river. The turbulent and violent members of this tribe appear to have controlled the puppet-king, and over-borne all the remonstrances and eilorts of Thompson. The latter though he certainly does not trust us, and is now forced to support the king that he set up, has always endeavoured to keep the peace, and to borrow our laws Ld usages, yet so as to keep aloof from the Government. Probably thj king party count! amoS^a ad herents the very worst and the very best of the whole native population ; both conceited andI wUful Len who have courted a conflict with the English power, and men who heartily desire and seek afto -m don and peace The sense of nationality and the common distrust combine them against us now , J 6; Aa. *° ,the Population of the middle or lower Waikato on this said of Taupiri I suppose it mav be safely said that the majority, however little attached to our rule, had always endeavoured1 to 1v" at peace a nd avoid a collision. Unless I am greatly misinformed, they had, just before the commencement of the present.troubles given the best proof of such a disposition; by refusing to suppor t Kewi in 2 proposal for attacking the troops at the Ia. If so, that was a clear proof that the majorftv (atany rato? did not intend to •' levy war "against the Queen, inasmuch as they actually prevented Eewi fronl do£ so ni their district. It when immediately after that our soldiers entered that district, they then ?ood up to resist what they would deem an invasion, we can fairly account for their so doin- without im ha Ud Ipoved CW '^ hCaS0Uable P UrP° Se which C«* least » f the majority) their K£3S 16. It should be remembered that the proclamation announcing the purpose of the Government in entermg on their land, came after the entry of the troops on their land; and that even whe , h came there was much in the claim it put forth, namely, a claim to take such land as the Government 2 choose, without any mention of quantity or compensation, which was likely to alarm and Se I £ If those men after giving the best proof of their intention not to " levy war " a-ainst"the Queen vet seeing their territory entered by an armed force, and property destroyed by that force stood up 2 resist, ought we not in fairness to conclude that they resisted, not because they were traitor^but rather because they were New Zealanders, or because they were men. "aitors, but 17. Nor are we yet, so far as I can discover, in a position to impute any traitorous purpose fas n commonly done) o the whole population of the native villages between Auckland and the W,i-ato which was ejected under the proclamation of the 9th of July. It should be remembered that t£ tendering ef an oath of allegiance was coupled with a demand to give up £r aim no a Th,s proclamation was issued on Thursday evening. On the next Sunday morning the General cro'sed the Manga awhin. It lu the freshness of their alarm and exasperation, many of the men Z ned their kinsmen, who had already risen to oppose the entry of the troops on their laZd, can we pronounce he r act to amount to a levying of war" against the Queen's authority, in the sense in whk-h those words are used by our law of treason P If it were possible for such troubles as these to occur in En*land

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0"^ English court ' and a11 alik» 18. We are now at the commencement of a new system of management in native affairs There has been something anomalous m the first start; a government in which the assembly has so large a part should be from the nature of the case a Government by law; yet proclamations have been put forth Se° aVof Z1 d y 7« P 1 "'I Ut'Ve t VeT" lent ClailIJed *° exerciae P°wers which* nether the law of England nor of the Colony has conferred on it. Let us regard them as military and extra ord.nary measures, and let us for the future see that in an adherence to the law of England iot only" oSSnT St% ■ C CuT Can aCl; °n n° 1, 6 bllt that Whkh is furnished bJ S law andusa% of England, and nothing could be more unreasonable or unseemly than that we, whilst seeking to E the native people to accept onr system, should be ourselves departing from it, v olatirg thecryl,w of which we are the professed upholders and champions. In factf if we°do not hold fa t to th s Trine nle there remains no limit to the extent of extravagance to which in the present excitement the minds of men may be carried, so as to forget not the mere form of law, but even those fundamental Spiel of fairness and equity which lie at the foundation of our English law, and of our whole EngHs s em 19 A few words may be proper with reference to the general drift of the preceding statement It may be said, with some show of truth, that this is a one-sided statement ; it is Jsomslse onesided it;,s the setting forth of that side of the question which is constantly dropped out of riSt while the other is made as prominent as possible ; yet if ever we are to see our way to a policy that shall heal the troubles of this island we must consider both sides; our policy must be fitted to the facts as they are in truth, not as we may desire them to be. ' If I speak of these things, it is not because I have any pleasure in speaking of them As an Englishman, and for many years a servant of the Crown, I can have no feeling about those tbiuffl but one of sorrow, , not ot shame: yet it is necessary to speak, because our people are as apt to forget tW facts as the natives are to remember them. I know how ignorant the larger part of our poSon is nadvesw °7 5S Col(,7;, b0W m! e » general possess of that peL.fal acquZtaS wi 1 the m nc wkl. would enab d them o .scover how abundant is the material for good in these people with all then- mistrust and stiftnockeducss. I know how many misleading influences are at work • how the crimes commuted on the Maori side are set forth, whilst crimes committed on our side pass unrecorded how many persons in their ignorance readily accept the current mis-statement, that native disaffection is only to be accounted for by a sort of infatuation or judicial blindness aisanecnon 20. In truth L am far from regarding this subject from one point of view only. The true interests of bo h races are inseparable. 1 see the risk of our entering upon a course of policy, whicl™ ado ted, will, 1 believe, entail upon us a chrome smouldering war, attended with heavy loss and demoralisation to our real settlers ill compensated by the increased wealth of a few capitalists in our towns, and which immVl4Ts eVOr U> TnVe ' faU nttraotious in the e7 es of tno better class of English I know the time has come when the folly of Waikato should be checked, and crime be punished • yet so checked and so punished as may become a Government which has not fulfilled its own purpose 'nor Performed its own duty ; as may become a Government which will not accommodate itself to supposed local interests, or narrow views, or popular clamour; but will look straightforward to that which, W |ust and reasonable, will in the end secure the real interests of all the Queen's subjects within thesf to us US S° pr°VC oureelves wor% ofthe power which England has entrusted

Appendix No. 1. "The Supreme Court of the United States, in the case of Worcester, reviewed the whole ground of controversy.relative to the character and validity of Indian rights within the territorial dominions of the United States, and especially in reference to ti.e Cherokee nation, within the territorial limits of Georgia. They declared that the right given by European discovery was the exclusive right to purchase, but this right was not founded on a denial of the right of the Indian possessor to sell. Thou-'h the nght to the soil was claimed to bo in European governments as a necessary consequence of the right of discovery and assumption of territorial jurisdiction, yet that right was only deemed such in reference to the whites ; and in respect to the Indians, it was always understood to amount only to the exclusive right of purchasing such lands as the natives were wilting to sell. The royal grants and charters asserted a title to the country against Europeans only, and they were considered a blank paper so far as the rights of the natives were concerned."— (Eenfs Commentaries, p. 383 ) . Iho decision of the Supreme Court of the United States was not the promulgation of any new doctrine, tor the several local governments, before and since our revolution, never regarded the Indian nations within then- territorial domains as subjects, or members of the body politic, and amenable individually to their jurisdiction. They treated the Indians within their respective territories as free and independent tribes governed by their own laws and usages, under their own chiefs, and competent to act m a national character., and exercise self-government, and, while residing within their own territories owing no allegiance to tho municipal laws of the whites. The judicial decisions in New York and lennessee in 1810 and 1823, correspond with those more recently pronounced in the Supreme Court of the Union, and they explicitly recognised this historical fact, and declared this doctrine The original Indian nations were regarded and dealt with as proprietors of tho soil which they claimed and Occupied, bat without the power of alienation except to the governments which protected them, and had thrown over them, and beyond them their assumed patented domains. These governments asserted and enforced the exclusive right to extinguish Indian titles to lands, enclosed within the exterior lines ot their jurisdictions, by fair purchase, nnder the sanction of treaties; and they held all individual

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purchases from the Indians, whether made with them individually or collectively as tribes, to be absolutely null and void. The only power that could lawfully acquire the Indian title was the State, and a Government grant was the only lawful source of title admitted iv the courts of justice. The Colonial and State Governments, and the Government of the United States, uniformly dealt upon these principles with the Indian nations dwelling within their territorial limits."—(Jijrf, 385.)

Appendix No. 2. [Parliamentary Paper, 8 April 1840.] " On the other hand, the Ministers of the Crown have been restraiaed by still higher motives from engaging in such an enterprise. They have deferred to the advice of the Committee appointed by the House of Commons in the year 1836, to inquire into the state of the Aborigines residing in the vicinity of our colonial settlements; and have concurred with that Committee in thinking that tlio increase of native wealth and power promised by the acquisition of New Zealand, would be a most inadequate compensation for the injury which must be inflicted on this kingdom itself by embarkine in a measure essentially unjust, and but too certainly fraught with calamity to a numerous and inoffensive people, whose title to the soil and to the sovereignty of New Zealand is indisputable and has been solemnly recognised by the British Government." Again : "To mitigate, and if possible, to avert these disasters, and to rescue the immigrants themselves from the evil of a lawless state of society, it has been resolved to adopt the most effective measures for establishing amongst them a settled form of Civil Government, To accomplish this desism is the principal object of your mission." l iw»{,i* Again : "The Queen, in common with Her Majesty's immediate predecessor, disclaims for herself and for her subjects every pretension to seize on the islands of New Zealand, or to govern them as a part ot the dominion of Great Britain, unless the free and intelligent consent of the natives expressed according to their established usages, shall be first obtained. Believing, however, that their own welfare would, under the circumstances I have mentioned, be best promoted by the surrender to Her Majesty of a right now so precarious, and little more than nominal, and persuaded that the benefits of British protection, and of laws administered by British judges, would far more than compensate for the sacrifice by the natives of a national independence which they are no longer to maintain, Her Majesty's Govern ment have resolved to authorise you to treat with the aborigines of New Zealand for the recognition of Her Majesty s Sovereign authority over the whole or any parts of those, islands which they may be willing to place under Her Majesty's dominion." J Letter from Lord Glenelg to Lord Durham (ibid. p. 148.) "The intelligence which Her Majesty's Government has received from the most recent and authentic sources, justifies the conclusion that it is an indispensable dutv, in reference both to tho native* and to British interests, to interpose, by some effective authority, to put a stop to the evils and dangers to which all those interests arc exposed, in consequence of the manner in which the intercourse of foreigners with those islands is now carried on." «, fe'i: Th. e.? r°P° sS 1 ****& the M. e Parliamentary Committee on Aborigines, appears inadequate to toeet the existing evil and the repression of practices of the most injurious tendency to the natives of New Zealand can, as it would seem, be accomplished only by the establishment of someSettled form of government within that territory, and in the neighbourhood of places resorted to by British settlers "

Appendix No. 3. Eenata to Dr. Featherstone, 23 July, 1861. i i "J!l e T SG °f *ho. Maori s^} ia S "P W" l<i»g, was because of the evils arising from the sale of tho land ofthe Maoris font was sold by single individuals without the consent of the S Hence arose the present di&culties in the eyes of the ltunanga, and not from the setting up of a Maori KW to fight against the Queen. Nothing of that kind was intended g "To return to the men who sell the land by stealth to the Governor; he should have seen the fault and condemned it, so that I might have left it for him alone to redress the wrongs of the Maori instead of which your servants go ami accept the dishonest offers of the Maori, which encouraged lnm 'to „! stealing lands, and then the Maori thought of setting up hi 8 King to investigate my (the £r °s) own wrongs. Th.s meeting has arrived at this conclusion : if this work of making a king £ a Maori device it wi pass away of itself. Friends, leave the Xing of Aotea alone, and he Will disappear ES' ' " But do you initiate something good for us both, in order that evil may be ashamed, and "ood works may destroy the evil deeds of evil-doers; for evil will never be put down by guns?poX,& and " It was the wrongs that we suffered at the hands of you Pakehas, tbat drove the Maori to th« Maori King as a man » driven by rain, or wind, or cold, into a house; it may befa hut of reed a house full of fleas, or ever bo bad a house, .till he will s:ay in it until a fine day Chines forth and then he will come out Man should be led ; if you drive him, it will not do ; look at this was it by bS driven that my Maori forms of worship were abandoned by us? it was by being drawninto the of good works, and that » how I come to be in this beautiful house, the church; thereforf iddSZ

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yourself to the evil* of the sellers by stealth of my lands, and cure these, as a good work, from which I may Bee that you are roofing m a good house, and that there is no deception intended, and then all will Eenata to the Superintendent of Hawko's Bay, February 1861. •' You appear to suppose that by getting hold of a single individual you can gain an advantage over him. Hereafter, whenever the majority consent to a sale, it shall take place. Let us have no more bundenng ; all our troubes have arisen from faulty working, and on this account it was that the door i^is £ u: w^ e systcm °f bu- viug is amendea' th°*- be «-* «•* « <- li And^' bo was th, e caus, e of th[s ? A man goes up to Auckland, and there sells the land • and the first thing the owners hear about it is that the land is gone. Others 'went off to Wellingto and there S." WM mJ °Wn Plat' e> °kaWa' "" g0He ' a"d «everal others the

Appendix, No. 4. Bitatona te Iwa to Eiwai ind others (from the translation of Archdeacon Maunsell, printed in 1SG1.) " To Eiwai, Kiripata Wiremu Tamihana, Apa, Tore, Wiri, Tei, and Hohepa, to ™u Sfgreeting io you. My friends, my fathers, listen! Here we are involved in warfare ; that is to say in Irievous' murderous, cannibal, blood-thirsty calamity. In this very grievous calamity, listen! You are Probiblv nnaomuig that we are going blindly to work. It is not so, but we arc proceeding on a dear course \\ hat makes it clear is this, that as far as regards the reference to the Governor, that has been done' As for murder, we have no intention of murdering; we leave murder to Ihaia and Nikorima Our einefB will act in broad daylight, and indeed they are acting now in broad daylight. As regards the reference to the Governor that has been made by the chiefs. You have already heard that Waitere (Katatore) was failed on the 9th day of the month of January. We had to wait till February for the Governor's answer. The answer came, that the Governor could take no steps in the matter- but let thce bo another murder, then the Governor would consent. Hence our chiefs concluded that the course taken by the Governor was wrong, because this is lhaia's second murder The words of the former Governor are not attended to now ; for steps were taken in the case of the quarrel with Eanei naeata, at the Hutt, on that occasion promptly. In the case of this murder no steps are taken "

End. 3, iv Xo. 1.

Enclosure 3, in No. 1. Memorandum by the Colonial Secretary, on Sir W. Martin's" Observations on Proposal to take Native Lands, <fcc." I have carefully read Sir William Martin's able and elaborate paper. His main aim appears to be to show that a general or even extensive confiscation of the lands of the natives who have cu^a^cd in rebellion, would be beyond the power of the General Assembly, and would be unjust and inexpedient There is much in Sir William's argument from which I am not inclined to dissent and many of his premises may be admitted more or less unreservedly. But I cannot concur in the conclusion at which lie has arrived. The subject is not one which can be regarded by the Government of this Colony as a mere abstract question. We have to deal with a people in actual rebellion, the largest and most powerful tribes being openly committed, and three-fourths of the whole Maori population sympathising to an extent which renders the enforcement of law by the ordinary tribunals exceedingly difficult and as regards large sections of the race, absolutely impossible. ° The magnitude of the emergency is such as to require the active operations of nearly 10 000 British troops, supported by five men of war, and 9,G00 men of the Colonial forces A portion of the Province of Auckland, 40 miles wide, by 20 deep, has for six months past been desolated and rendered uninhabitable by the inroads of the rebels, which have extended to within 15 miles of the capital- a very large amount of property, representing the investment and industry of 20 years has 'been destroyed; unarmed men engaged in peaceful occupations, and women and children,'have been massacred in cold blood; while the whole Northern Island is kept in a condition of insecurity and alarm, destructive of its prosperity, and almost absolutely putting a stop to its colonization The problem to be solved by the Government, is not merely how to put down the existing rebel 1 on ; it is of no less consequence to prevent its recurrence. Experience has proved that mere military defeat has little more than a temporary effect on the Maori, and that as soon as he has had breathing time, he is ready to renew hostilities, by which he loses little or nothing, but gains much plunder and inflicts ruinous loss on his ultimately victorious opponents. There are only two methods by which periodical outbreaks can be prevented ; one, the continued maintenance of a large military and naval force, such as at present is provided by the Imperial and Colonial Governments, and which converts the Colony into a camp ; the other, the introduction and settlement of so large an European population as may render insurrection hopeless in the eyes of the natives, and easily repressive, should they be mad enough to attempt it. To secure this cud, population must be introduced into those districts now

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sparsely inhabited by the rebels, and from which they make their inroads into the settled districts • and it is only on the lands of the rebel tribes, at least iu the Province of Auckland, in which it can be so established The Government proposes to confiscate (that is, to take without compensation) no lands except those ot which the owners have been engaged in open rebellion, or actually aiding and abetting it by overt acts. The law recently passed by the General Assembly does not enable the Government to confiscate any lands but these. It is true it enables the Government also to take other lands, whether those of Maories of Europeans, for public purposes; such as the establishment of military villages, or the like, on paying full compensation, to be assessed by a legally constituted tribunal. This is :n accordance with a principle of constitutional law, which vests such a power in the supreme authority of every civilised people. The idea of confiscation of land is not now to the Maori race, nor in anv way abhorrent to their moral sense. It has for centuries been the law of the victor among themselves, accompanied by the reduction into slavery of the conquered tribe ; and whether viewed as a punishment for rebellion an indemnity for the cost of its suppression, or a material guarantee for the future, it seems to be based on principles of natural justice. No precaution which could be taken would have an equal effect in deterring other tribes from rebellion, compared with the impending penalty of losing their lands When To Rauparaha was taken by Sir George Grey, during the Cook's Straits war, in 1846, and held as a hostage other natives asked "What is the good of taking the man; that will not stop fighting ■ vou should have taken his land The mere announcement of an intention on the part of the Government to confiscate the lands of the Oakura murderers six months ago, is reported by various commissioners and resident magistrates to have had the best effect in repressing the excited sympathies of tribes not vet actually committed. On the other hand, if those tribes which have hitherto only sympathised with rebellion without partaking in it, should, on the cessation of the present disturbance's see those who engaged in them restored to their possessions and all their territorial rights, it would "o far to encourage them to resist the enforcement of law and the progress of colonization, whenever it might suit them to do so. I will not enter upon a discussion on the debateablo question whether it is desirable for the natives themselves, rebel or others, to retain possession of immense tracts of land, which they neither use nor allow_ others to use. and which maintains them in a state of isolation from the European race and itsurogrcssivc civilization- I will merely state my own conviction that such a condition is most prejudicial to the native race, and highly conducive to the prevalence of evils, social and physical, which contribute to the rapid decay and extinction of the race. It seems unnecessary to offer any other comment on Sir W. Martin's argument than one of this practical character It comes to this : if we are to hold the Northern Island of New Zealand as a British possession, if its colonization is to go on, if the Maori race itself is not to be gradually exterminated by repeated conflicts with a superior power, the proposal of the Government to take the lands of the rebels as an indemnity for the past, and a material guarantee for the future, must be adopted There is nothing in such a proposal contrary to the first principles of justice, or unusual in the history of national conflicts all the world over and! it is strictly in conformity with the customs of the Maoris themselves. Mere technical difficulties rtf there be any, such as govern feudal liability to forfeiture, or the necessity of conferring political franchise, which is alleged to be a condition precedent to the right to enforce submission to law) however interesting as abstract questions for discussion, cannot be entertained by a Government on which the responsibility rests of saving to the British Crown a dependency in imminent peril, and preventing for the future the renewal of a similar crisis. (Signed) William Fox, Colonial Secretary.

Snb-Euoloaur

Sub-Enclosure. The following is a letter from Waikato to William Thompson. Come O William, be quick this very day. Don't stay away, but be quick. Hear the word of He, UoiiK n red OI' S" ™ '' " °f °n° beC°™S ; that °f th° other *d not quickly This expression meant that William Thompson should join them in attacking the Pakeha | o tt'i-— "lngl' OI1VCrSatlOntO°kplaC'C betwecn Wi Tamihana and Te Eaihi in reference to this Raihi.—What is your thought as to the meaning of that word ? \\ t Tamihaxa— if Aporois the cause, I am carrying with me money twenty pounds My letter on that subject has been sent to your residence. If Aporo is the cause, this money shall be paced before the people assembled. They also shall collect some money in addition, to be compensation^ the crime of Aporo m reference to Mr. Gorst. You will carry it to Auckland; but if they will not the Pakeh, Tf I" % * **" not eOn"«rt theM Plaus of theirs-plotting to a tack EAim Wh r^T' f r° J* aD°- I"' CaU8° J ust t0 m? "^-standing, I will consent. Kauii.— What kiud of a course will you consider a just cause. , „ i X T-^niA.-That will depend on the nature of the crime (or offence). When I learn that I shall know it the cause be just or unjust. -i ravin mat, i Baiih.—Enough ! Go I Be urgent (to condemn them), if you see that the cause is wrong Wi Iamihana.— i es, 1 -nill go there. He went to Tamahera. On the second day of his being there, he inquired of the men of Waikalo wEe l82l? 7mT * They replied, "We come to invite you to consent to fight

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Wi Tamihana did not consent to those plans (attacking the Pakeha) ; because, in his iud"ment he perceived no just cause. ° After the soldiers crossed Mangatawhiri, then he first consented to fight, after the loss sustained by "Waikato in the battle of Koheroa. The above is the translation of To Eaihi's statement to me. EdWAED ShOHTLAITD, G January, 1861. Native Secretary.

No. 2. (No. 10.) J copt or a DESPATCH from governor sir geohse grey, k.c.b., to his gbacu tile dukk of 1 NEWCASTLE, K.G. j ( Government House, Auckland, 6 January, 1864. (Received 14 March, 1864.) T My Lord Duke, — (Answered, No. 43, of 26 April, 1864.) j I have the honor herewith to transmit authenticated copies of the several Acts* passod by the 1 G-eneral Assembly of New Zealand, during its last session, and of Bills which have passed through both 1, Houses, but which I have reserved for the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure, together with expla- Jj natory memoranda* by my Responsible Advisers, on these several enactments. '- 2. I only think it necessary to trouble your Grace with the following remarks : —Firstly, I be" to recommend that the several Bills which I have reserved for the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure, may receive the Royal Assent. Secondly, In their remarks upon the Suppression of Rebellion Act and the' New Zealand Settlement Act, my Responsible Advisers observe as follows :— " In former wars in New Zealand the natives have been permitted to leave off fighting when they thought fit, to keep all the plunder they had obtained, and they have not been subjected to any kin'd of punishment for disturbing the peace of the country, killing Her Majesty's subjects, and destroying their property. If native wars are to be prevented for the future, some more effective mode of dealing with those who create them must be adopted. The question, then, is, in what way for the future can the peace of the Colony be best maintained?" &c, &c. 3. I do not think that this passage accurately describes past events. For instance, in the war which arose about the Valley of the Hut*, much land was taken from natives which they claimed, although the Commissioner appointed by the Crown had decided against them. Several powerful chiefs were for some time retained in confinement for their conduct on that occasion. The natives engaged in the war were forced to retire beyond the village of Otaki, and other punishments were inflicted on the natives ; but without discussing "these particulars, I would deal with the general question. 4. There are two modes of dealing with subjects after a rebellion, to treat them with great generosity, or with severity. I believe the former method is found to be the most successful; when, therefore, former wars terminated, the natives were very generously treated, and no large forfeiture of lands declared. In one way this policy was certainly eminently successful; for in the present war our former enemies, had they joined against us, might have inflicted the most serious injury upon us ; whereas they have, I believe, to a man refrained from in any way taking advantage of our present difficulties, and many of them have earnestly expressed their readiness to aid us, if we wished them so to do. 5. 1 do not think the same policy would now succeed to the same extent. The natives have acquired too many arms and too much ammunition. The war has become more a war of races ; we have used no native allies in this war. It has lasted longer than any previous war, and more tribes have been drawn into it, and it originated, at least in the estimation of a large number of the natives, in an attempt on our part to establish a new principle, in procuring native lands, and in an overlooking of their interests in other respects. Hence a wide-spread distrust and dislike of the Government has sprung up. The early successes of the natives at Taranaki have also emboldened their young mon. All these causes make me think that it is necessary now to take lands from the natives who have been in arms, and to locate an European population upon them. But, acting upon the principle of the great wisdom of showing a large generosity towards defeated rebel subjects, I would not carry this system too far. 6. I would call your Grace's attention to the remarks of my Responsible Advisers upon the New Zealand Loan Act, and to their earnest request that the Imperial guarantee may be given for the large loan they propose to raise. I can assure your Grace that I think this is a case in which Great Britain might most advantageously give this Colony the aid for which it thus asks, for I believe the inhabitants of New Zealand have, in the present crisis, exerted themselves to the utmost to defend themselves, and to save the Imperial Government as much as possible from expense. In this instance, therefore, to aid this Colony to the extent it now asks, would, 1 think, be at once both just and politic. It is, therefore, a course which I earnestly recommend for your Grace's consideration. I have, &c, G. Ghst. For the explanatory Memoranda, see ante A. No. 1, and Appendix to Journals Session 1863, A. No. 6.

No. 2. Governor Sir Ge<>. Grey, X.C.8., to the Duke of Newcastle, K.G., 6 January, 18fi4. *~OnTy NosTf, 8, 11, ami 12 are printed. Memo, from Ministers, enclosing Acts of General Assembly, dated 5 January 1864.

CONFISCATION OF NATIVE LANDS.

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E.—No. 2

Despatch from the Secretary of State. (No, 43.) copy of a DESPATCH feom the right how. edwabd cardwell, m.p, to governor SIB GEOHGE OBEY, K.C.B. Q . Downing Street, April 20, 1SG4. . Her Majesty's Government have had under their consideration three Acts passed by tho Legislature of New Zealand, in order to give effect to the views of vour Advisers with reference to the .native war, viz.: IslanfoA^ztaknd GDMe *" Q°HXMt to cstablish Settlements for Colonization in the Northern XewSihml^ 11 Att fOT laiSin" ' a L°lm °f £3'°00'000 stei'lin S for the Public Service of the Colony of lo/m^xP'i^f Aet- t0 "'PP roF iato certain «ums to be raised under "the New Zealand Loan Act 1863 (the last-mentioned Act), " and to provide for the repayment of certain portions thereof" lhe most important of these Acts is that which stands first on the list It declares in effect that if, in the opinion of the Colonial Government, any considerable number of the members of any native community have been or shall hereafter be in rebellion, the Colonial Government may declare any district within which such community may hold property to be a district tor the purpose of this Act, and may at any time thereafter confiscate within that district such lands as they may from time to time consider requisite for purposes of settlement, whether those lands be the property ot loyal or disloyal natives or of colonists. Compensation is to be given according to the judgment of a court to persons (or I presume to tribes or communities) who are to be dispossessed without having been engaged in rebellion Ihene courts are not only empowered to refuse, but arc positively disabled from giving compensation to any person who shall have aided assisted, or comforted any rebel, or who, (whether engao-e.fi a rebellion or not) shall have refused to give up his arms on being required to do so by proclamation A n lho ™w ™ a Pendent law applicable not only to the present conjuncture, but to any case in whirl, the Colonial Government shall hereafter "be satisfied" that "any considerable number" of any native community m any part of the island shall have been in rebellion since the 1st of January 1868. I learn from the memorandum which accompanies this Act that the power of the Assembly to pass it has been questioned m New Zealand ; and I have thought it right to submit it, together with one which has also been passed by the Colonial Legislature for the suppression of the rebellion, to the Law Officers of the Crown for their opinion. That opinion I cannot receive in time to communicate with you by this mad ; but I need not leave you in ignorance of the views which I entertain upon the policy embodied in this important law, or of the opinion of Her Majesty's Government in respect to the measures which ought to be taken as soon as decisive success in arms shall enable you to take them for the pacification and settlement of the Northern Island It appear, that of the land thus about to bo acquired, part is to be granted in lots varying from 50 t -IK) acres, to the members of the Colonial Force recently raised, numbering, I underpaid, about ■1000 persons, and part is to be occupied by settlers who are to bo introduced from Europe at the expense ot the Colony, and are to hold their lands on a species of military tenure. It is supposed that the whole number of settlers, including the above-mentioned Colonial Force, will amount to2O00u ..u' me of thiB klml wa» submitted to the Duke of Newcastle in your Despatch No. 100* of the -.)th of August last. Your Ministry then proposed the introduction of 5,000 men, who were to hold fifty-acre farms upon military tenure, on land to be taken from the insurgent natives. Your Despatch implied (hat you approved the principle of this scheme, and you stated that you had sanctioned it to the extent ot raising 2,000 men for active service. The Duke of Newcastle adopted your views, but not without a very serious caution as to tho danger and delicacy of applying them. He indicated the difficulty of preventing injustice, and the hazardof exciting the apprehension of the natives ; he pointed out to the Local Government the responsibility which they would incur of providing against these evident risks ; and he added that if the determination of your Government should have the effect of extending and intensifying the spirit of disaffection and ot thus enlarging the sphere or prolonging the period of military operations, these consequences would be viewed by Her Majesty's Government with the gravest concern ami reprehension. I need scarcely observe that the Act now forwarded, taken in combination with the scheme proposed by your Gorernmuch , * Fap exP an«i()il <^ t!l« principles in which the Duke of Newcastle acquiesced with'so 'The number of settlers, and consequently the immediate amount of confiscation, is quadrupled the compulsory power of acquiring land within a proclaimed district is, by the terms of the Act applied alike to the loyal and the disloyal ; the right of compensation is jealously limited, and is denied even to the most loyal native if he refuses to surrender his accustomed right of carrying arms, and these powers are not to be exercised exceptionally and to meet the present emergency, "or by regularly constituted courts ot justice, but are to be permanently embodied in the law of New Zealand ; ami to form a standing qualification of the treaty of Waitangi. This being the nature of tho law, I proceed to consider some very grave objections which may be urged against it. it renders permanently insecure the tenure of native property throughout tho Islands' and is thus calculated to alarm our friends. It makes no difference between the leaders and contrivers' ot rebellion and their unwilling agents or allies, and is thus calculated to drive to despair those who ire but halt our enemies. The proceedings by which unlimited confiscation of property is to take place mw be secret, without argument and without appeal ; and the provision for compensation is as rigidlV confined as the provision for punishment is flexible and unlimited. ■ 3 I concur with your Advisers in thinking it impossible to apply to the Maoris the maxims of English

Vide Papers presented by command, 3rd March, 1864,

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law m all their application to the details of civilised life. It is necessary to take into amount the anomalous position which they occupy on the one hand as having acknowledged the Queen's sovereignty and thus become hable to the obligations and entitled to the rights of British subject, and ou the o her' hand as having been allowed to re tarn their tribal organisation and native usages juul as thus occupy in' in a great measure, the position of independent communities. Viewed in the former capacity they have" by levying war against the Queen, rendered themselves punishable by death and confiscation of property' These penalties however, can only be inflicted according to the rules and under the protection of the Criminal law. A tewed in the latter capacity, they would be at the mercy of their conquerors, to whom all public property would at once be transferred, private property remaining under the protection of international custom. Eemembering the difficulty of determining what is private and wha* public property among he Maoris, it seems to follow that in the interest^ all parties the rights of lie Maori insurgents must be dealt with by methods not described in any law book, but arising out of the oxcep tional circumstances of a most anomalous case, f It is therefore doubly necessary that those who administer in the name of the Queen a Government of irresistible power should weigh dispassionately the claims which the insurgent Maoris hare on our consideration. In the .absence of those legal safeguards which furnish the ordinary protection of the vanquished, the Imponal and Colonial Governments are bound so to adjust their proceedings to the laws of natural equity, and to the expectations winch the Natives have been encouraged or allowed to form as to impress the whole Maori race at this critical moment with the conviction that their European rulers are just as well as severe, and are desirous of using the present opportunity, not for their oppression, but for the permanent well being of all the inhabitants of New Zealand I recognise the necessity of inflicting a salutary penalty upon the authors of a war which was commenced by a_ treacherous aad sanguinary outrage, and attended by so many circumstances justly entailing upon the pity portion of the Natives measures of condign punishment. But I hold in the first place, that in the> apportionment;of this punishment those who have actively promoted or violently prosecuted tins war should be carefully distinguished from those who, by circumstances, connection or sense of honour, or other natural temptation, have been unwillingly drawn into it, and still more pointedly from those who have on the whole adhered to the British cause. Even in the case of the most culpable tribes the punishment should be such as to inflict present humiliation and inconvenience rather thin a recurring sense of injury and should leave them with a conviction that their punishment, if severe has not exceeded the limits of just.cc, and also with the assurance that for the future they have nothing to fear, but everything to hope from the Colonial Government. With this view, the punishment, however exemplary should be inflicted once for all, and those who may have suffered from it should be led to feel that they may engage in the pursuits of industry on the lauds which remain to them with the same security from disturbance which is enjoyed by their most favoured fellow-subjects And I should hold it as a great misfortune if the punishment were so allotted as to destroy those germs of order and prosperity winch have been so singularly developed in some of the Waikato tribes. 1 do not dispute the right of the Colonial Government to obtain from the punishment of the insurgent Natives some aid in defraying the expenses of the war, or, in other words, of including in the contemplated session or forfeiture lands to be disposed of by sale, as well as lands to be devoted to the purposes of military settlement. But these expenses have been mainly borne by this country which hns therefore, a right to require that the cession or confiscation of territory shall not be carried further thin may bo consistent with the permanent pacification of the island and the honour of the English name ' I must now now invite your attention to some difficulties to which such a scheme wo°uld appear to be liable if carried into effect too suddenly, and on too great a scale. I think it may be generally said that there is not much modern experience of a successful military settlement. In the present case it can scarcely be hoped that the 20,000 persons whom it is proposed to place upon land will be entirely of the most desirable class ; and notwithstanding the intention expressed by your Minister to provide for the introduction of married settlers, with thcTr families it is to be expected that there will be a great preponderance of males among them, a circumstance which is always productive of many causes of strife in such a state of society. If the settlements should be scattered at a distance from any natural centre, and in the heart of a disaffected country they mi-ht prove unequal to their own defence, and their protection would be extremely expensive, while it would hardly be possible for the Colony to abandon the territories which it had occupied Lastly as the immigrants would be without special experience or capital, bound to a distasteful military tenure and perhaps exposed to the hostility of the Natives, it is to be feared that they would have to undergo much hardship, and would be soon attracted from their farms by the high wages of Australia or the still nearer gold-fields of Otago. I am strengthened in these apprehensions by observing flint the difficulty of enforcing military service upon Colonists has pressed itself on the notice of yourself and the New Zealand Representatives In your despatch of the 24th July, ISG2, you express your fear that labourers and artisans could not be induced to remain in the Colony if liable to militia service. And a somewhat similar anticipation is expressed m the Memorial addressed to Her Majesty by the House of Representatives, and mentioned m your Despatch of the Gth October, 18C2. ""nuonui This is a matter which more properly belongs to your own Advisers on the spot, responsible as they now are tor the conduct of Native Affairs, and I do not urge these objections for the purpose of discouraging, withm moderate and practicable limits, a scheme from which you expect the best results but only that, in order to ensure success, those limits mey be carefully considered, in the first instance' I shall have occasion to recur to the subject of lands taken for sale, in considering the orouosal for a guaranteed loan. ° ' r ux Considering that the defence of the Colony is at present effected by an Imperial force I should perhaps have been justified in recommending the disallowance of an Act couched in such'sweeping terms, capable therefore of great abuse, unless its practical operation were restrained by a street? and resolute hand and calculated, if abused, to frustrate its own objects, and to prolong instead of termi nate war. But not having received from you any expression of your disapproval, and being moB t unwilling to take any course which would weaken your hands in the moment of your military success

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CONFISCATION OF NATIVE LANDS.

E.—No. 2.

Her Majesty a Government have decided that the Act shall for the present remain in operation Jney are Jed to this conclusion not merely by a desire to sustain the authority of the local Government, but also in no small degreB by observing that no confiscation can lake effect without your personal concurrence, and by the reliance which they so justly place on your (sagacity, firmness, and experience and your longrecord regard as well for the interest, c i the Colonists-4 for the fair rUhaud expectation ot the native race. «g«™ ™ ■ I K?™ thcrefore to conveJ to you the following instructions as embodying the decisions of Her Majesty s Government. It is in their opinion very much to be desired that the proposed appropriation of land should take the torn, of a cession imposed by yourself and General Cameron upon the conquered tribes and made by thorn to the Representative of the Queen, as a condition on which Her Majesty's clemency is extended to them. I he advantages of such a settlement (in which, however, I need hardly say the position of the Maoris as defeated rebels should be unequivocally exhibited), are too manifest to need explanation Bat it this should be found impossible, you are at liberty, subject to the following reservations to give your concurrence in bringing the law into operation. A measure should be at once submitted to the Legislature to limit the duration of the Act to a definite period, not exceeding, I think, two years from its original enactment-a period long enough to allow for the necessary inquiries respecting the extent, situation, and justice of the forfeiture yet short enough to Wlifye the conquered party from any protracted suspense, and to assure those who have adhered to us that there ,s no intention of suspending in their case the ordinary principles of law The aggregate extent of the forfeiture should be at once made known, and (heir exact position as soon as possible. ' ' . - A ™IT issJ,? n shou]^ be constituted for the special purpose of inquiring what lands may properly be forfeited. The members of this commission should not be removable with the Ministry and should be bo chosen as to guarantee a fair and careful consideration of the matters brought before them It should be clearly understood that your own concurrence in any forfeiture is not to be considered as a mere ministerial act, but that it will be withheld unless you are personally satisfied that the confiscation is just and moderate. J And' here I must observe, that if in the settlement of the forfeited districts all the land which is capable of remunerative cultivation should be assigned to Colonists, and the original owner the Maori be driven back to the forest and morass, the sense of injustice, combined with the pressure of want' would convert the native population into a desperate banditti, taking refuge in the solitudes of the inter.orf.-om the pursuit of the police or military, and descending, when opportunity might occur into the cultivated plain to destroy the peaceful fruits of industry, "i rely on your wisdom and jus ice to avert a danger so serious in its bearing on the interests of the European not less than of the Native race. Turning to that part of the law which authorises the dispossession of persons who have not been involved in the recent rebellion, I have to observe, that although Her Majesty's Government admit With regret that the tribal nature of the native tenure will sometimes render it unavoidable that innocent persons should be deprived of their lands, they consider that land should not be appropriated against the will of the owners merely because it is in the same district with rebel property1 °, c ay conveniently be used for purposes ot settlement, but only in eases where loyal or neutral Natives arc unfortunate enough to be joint owners with persons concerned in the rebellion, or because it is absolutely required for some purpose of defence or communication, or on some similar ground of necessity Hut every such case of supposed necessity should be examined with the greatest care, and admitted v, lth the greatest caution and reserve. eu The compensation to be given to persons thus dispossessed is properly by the Act itself made the subject of inquiry in an open court; but the 5th section of the Act ought to be so modified that the powers of the Court may not be limited in any manner which would prevent its oW complete justice to the claims of every innocent person, or extending reasonable consideration to tliosS whose guilt was of a less heinous character, a class which, in the varying temper of the New Zealand tribes is probably large I trust that, in accepting any cession or authorizing confirmation of any forfeiture of land you will retain in your own hands ample power of doing substantial justice to every class of claimant tor restitution or compensation. J "Finally when you have taken all the powers, and received all the cessions which you think necessary for the satisfactory pacification of the Islands, you will do well to accompany these measures of justice and seventy by the announcement of a general amnesty, from which those only should be excepted who have been concerned m the murders of unoffending settlers, or other like offences of a hoi « s rictly exceptional character. In order to mark as much as possible the discriminating character of British justice the exception from the amnesty should not be couched in general terms, but should recite one by one the specific outrages which remain unpardoned Subject to these cautions and conditions, and in full confidence that you will act on the general principles which I have before laid down (and in which I anticipate your cordial concurrence) Her Majesty s Government are prepared to leave in your hands the power with which you have been entrusted by the Legislature of the Colony. In the Despatch in which you have transmitted to ne these measures, you have expressed in terms with which I entirely agree/your own appreciation of a generous policy, and of its beneficial consequences when adopted on former occasions in New Zealand • *?'?i SamC your reasons, the justice of which lam not prepared to dispute for determiu' ing that the circumstances of the present case justly and necessarily call for measures of severity such as have not been adopted at the close of former wars; but you accompany these reasons with the expression of your opinion that this seventy ought not to be carried too far. I recognise also with satisfaction the statement of your Ministers on the occasion of their first submitting to you thefr vI upon forfeiture and military settlement. They said they felt assured, that as this would be the first To it would a so be the last, occasion on which any aboriginal inhabitant of New Zealand would be deprived of land against his wiD. -1

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B.—No. 2.

I trust that on their part there will be no unwillingness to co-operate with you in confining the mea ™il"l W^efeSd t0 W reC0Urse > ™™» and mode/ate f£. I now turn to the Act which authorises a loan of 3,000,000 /., for which it is desired to obtain the Tow^J v^Tn arham°at * oWe that <>f total sum which it is proposed to raise 1,000,000 /is allotted to the expenses of the war, 200,000/. to the repayment of a debt to the Imperial Government, which has probably doubled since that time, 200,000/. to the compensation of the Taranak settlers and the rest in he mam, to the settlement of the country. The bulk of it appears to be appropriated to the plan of military settlement, to which I have already adverted. Her Majesty's Government recognise as exceptional the expenses occasioned to the Colony bv the rnnnnnT r; i aUw^ \ are ,not, unwil]! nS to entertain the question of extending the guarantee of 500,000/. which they have already conditionally promised to submit to Parliament, to such a further -urn as will cover the increased debt of the Colony to the Imperial Exchequer, and so much of these military expenses, including 200,000/. for compensation to the Taranaki settlers, as may properly be defrayed, not out of the current revenue of the Colony, but by loan. But the same reasons do not in their judgment apply to the settlement of the country, which whether successful or not as a measure of defence, is mainly a matter of colonial interest, inasmuch as its success is calculated to add to the wealth and population of the Colony. To a purpose of this kind the Imperial credit is not generally; applicable; and Her Majesty's Government do not consider that the laud which it is proposed to acquire under the Settlement Act is of any such definite value as materially to add to the security on which the guarantee of Parliament could be given. The omission of this sum will reduce the whole loan within much narrower limits; and I will consider and write you on a future occasion how far the revenue of New Zealand, pledged by the terms of the Act, and the considerations to which I have referred, may t ustify Her Majesty's Government in increasing the proposal they have already promised to make to Parliament. Under any circumstances, the sum will doubtless appear to Parlia ment larger than it has been usual to guarantee to a Colony of the size and resources of New Zealand and could only be proposed by the Government with any prospect of success in connexion with the peculiar circumstances of the present loan, and in the well-founded hope of a final pacification and settlement. I must now call your attention to the importance of reducing as rapidly as possible, after the conclusion of the troubles, the large force now maintained in New Zealand, and 1 confidently expect to receive from you such information as may enable me to communicate to the Secretary of State for War the possibility of a great reduction in the number of men, and consequently in the estimate for the year I must also remind you, that for the great expense which this country has already incurred in putting down the present insurrection, the Home Government only calls upon the Colony for that almost nominal contribution which it has already; engaged to pay. The arrangement at present in force respecting the amount of the military contribution, and the proportion of it which is to be returned to the Colony to be employed for the benefit of the Natives, will terminate with the close of the present year In consenting to guarantee a large loan for the Colony, the Imperial Government will feel it necessary to require that, if at the close of that period the Colony should continue to require assistance of the Mother Country, a much more adequate contribution shall be made to the Imperial Exchequer I am however unable at this moment to convey to you any definite decision on this part of the subject It is under the consideration of the Government, and I shall take an early opportunity of addressing you a^ain upon it. a j a I conclude by expressing an earnest hope that the operation in which General Cameron has been engaged may already have terminated the war, and shall rejoice when I am able to congratulate you on having succeeded, by the wisdom of your own measures, and those of your Government by the skill of that distinguished Commander, and by the valour of the Queen's Troops and Seamen, and of the Colonial Forces engaged m the conflict, in restoring the blessings of order and good government to the country entrusted to your care. ' I have, &c. Governor Sir Geo. Grey, K C. B. Edwasd Cabdwell.

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