The Growth of the Dominion

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXIX, Issue 13, 28 September 1907, Page 27

The Growth of the Dominion

cA Brief Sketch of S'te'to Zealand s Progress

On Thursday New Zealand assumed the dignity of the title of a Dominion. At such a time, a brief glance back over the early history and progress under European occupation of this, the first colony added to the Empire under the sovereignty of Queen Victoria, may not be out of place. THE DAYS OF MAORI OCCUPATION. Estimates of the time that has elapsed since the Maoris first arrived in New Zealand differ very much, but the best estimates place it at four or five hundred years. According to tradition, Turi, a chief of Hawaike (the identity of which can only be conjectured), first reached these shores, with the members of his tribe, in a canoe called Aotea, landing at Witikau, a bay between Taranaki and Wanganui. Turi obtained his knowledge of the existence of the islands from Kupe, who had sighted New' Zealand, and, returning to Hawaike, reported his discovery. Another canoe called Tofcomaru, from the same place, commanded by a chief named Manaia, arrived, and a considerable immigration followed. The new arrivals found a peaceable race of people, called Morioris, already in possession of the land. These they speedily subdued and exterminated, or enslaved, the only remnant of this people) who preserved their racial characteristics till modern times, baling the inhabitants of the Chatham Islands, whose isolation protected them from destruction by the more masterful race. The invaders spread over rhe Nortli Island, and obtained a footing on the South Island. Being divided into tribes hostile to each other, they were often at war, a fact which accounts for the increase being smaller than might have been anticipated. It is doubtful if at any time the Maoris numbered more than 120,000. DISCOVERY BY EUROPEANS. Some time during the 16th century the'colony was for the first time visited by Europeans. No definite records of any expedition are known to be extant, but everything points to a visit having been paid the islands before the time of Tasman. Of the visit of Tasman there exist good accounts, and it is evident that the Dutchman, who never landed in the country, was, after the massacre of one of his boat’s crew at Golden Bay, only too anxious to leave the vicinity of the land he had inadvertently .stumbled upon. His object was to sail to the eastward, and, missing Cook's Strait, owing to a gale, he coasted along as far as the North Capa. At the Three Kings he made an effort to land, but the appearance of a number of Maoris on the shore made him lift anchor and sail away. This was in 1642, and from that date till the first appearance of Cook in the 370-ton frigate Endeavour, some 127 years later, there is no reliable account of any navigator visiting New Zealand. A's showing what an indefinite idea Tasman had obtained of the colony, it may be mentioned that he named it Staten Island, apparently under the impression that it might possibly be a part of Terra del Fucgo, which had some time before been discovered bv a Dutchman, and named after the State’s General. The Duteh authorities, however, changed the name back to Nova Zelandia. which was that appearing on an old chart showing indefinitely the northern part of the North Island. Cook's researches, which extended over four voyages and comprised 327 days spent in the colony, were so thorough that the map he made is recognised as being wonderfully accurate, lie was severe on the natives, but gained their respect. Previous to his voyages tb p only four-footed animals that the Maoris possessed were a small rat and

a mongrel dog, which they had brought to New Zealand with them. Cook gave them pigs, fowls, and seed potatoes. A LAND WAITING A CLAIMANT. The English Government declined to avail themselves of the new land which Cook reported so favourably on, and had taken possession of in the name of the King. Whalers and sealers found its coast, however, a profitable fishing ground, and early in the 19th century established a settlement at Kororareka. The Maoris were at this time a people of flexible ethics, and Kororareka, in its earliest stages, inhabited by convicts escaped from the Australian penal settlement and the riff-raff of whaling vessels, was for a considerable period a. scene of most horrible orgies, and undoubtedly a blot on colonisation. Following on this early settlement by the scum of civilisation came the missionaries. The Rev. Samuel Marsden, whose dream it had been for many years to Christianise the natives, arrived at Hokianga in 1814. It speaks well for the whole-heart-ed and disinterested body of men who were the pioneers of missionary work in New Zealand that they obtained such a hold over the turbulent natives. Certain it is that the Maoris appreciated the practical instruction in the ways of civilisation that the missionaries imparted; and the religion they preached appealed to their emotional and poetic nature. Great as was missionary influence over the Maoris it was not powerful enough to prevent the terrible intertribal wars that w.eye waged between 1820 and 1840. THE STEPS PRECEDING ANNEXATION. The English Government, although they had so long deelined to take over New Zealand, did not reflect in this matter the attitude of the English public. A section of the great British public at least was interested in the reports from the far-off islands. It was perhaps the influence of the missionaries,- who desired New Zealand as a field to work out their own designs in, that prompted the reply of the Duke of Wellington, then Prime Minister, when in 1829. in answ'cr to a deputation, he flatly refused to take any steps to bring New Zealand within the pale of the Empire. The New South Wales Government, nevertheless, felt called upon, owing to the large number of whites at that time resident at the Bay of Islands, to do something. They therefore, in 1834. appointed Mr James Busby as Resident at Korarareka. He was not personally popular, and, being without powers, his position became a sinecure. In 1838 the New Zealand Company was formed in I.ondon to carry out a system of colonisation devised by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, and in 1840 they colonised Port Nicholson. . The natives repudiated the land purchases made by Colonel Wakefield on behalf of the Company, and owing to the hasfy despatch of emigrants from England, th? pioneers of Wellington had a rough time of it for some years. The missionaries, in 1833, became covinced of the fact that the French were anxious to colonise New Zealand and they reluctantly camo to the conclusion that the only way out of the dilemma was annexation by England. The action of the N.Z.' Company forced the hand of the Imperial Government, and to avoid the colony becoming a French possession they eventually decided on its annexation. | THE TREATY OF WAITANGI. Governor Hobson landed at the Bay of Islands on January 29th. 1840, with his commission as Governor in his pocket, and in May was signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which acknowledged the sove-

reignty of Queen Victoria over the islands, while recognising the titles of the natives to their lands. It is strange what small incidents have a marked effect on big events. Of the chiefs assembled who spoke on the treaty the only strong supporter of the proposed annexation was the powerful Tairati Waka Nene, of the Ngapuhi tribe. After a long list of chiefs had spoken oaj arose and in great excitement addresXM His Excellency to the effect that the Maoris would not consent to part with their lands. His excited gestures seemed almost a menace to many spectators ignorant of the gist of his remarks, and on resuming his eeat he was taken to task by the next speaker, who taxed him with incivility to the Governor. Still excited, the supposed offender leaped on the platform and extended his hand to Governor Hobson i? token of good feeling and his wish of being rightly understood. His Excellency advanced and gravely shook his hands. This was the signal for a roar of delight from the natives and a loud cheer from the Europeans, who considered that the discussion had ended favourably from this simple action of one of the principal opnosers. The effect was magical. The feeling of the Maoris changed from one of g owing opposition into acquiescence. Only on; dissentient voice was raised, and that, the voice of Bishop Pompallier, who, being a Frenchman, had other designs for the future of the colony. Fifty chiefs signed the treaty. Proclamation of sovereignty over the South Island was not declared till July,, 1840, just in ti ne to forestall the French warship L’Allbe, which had come out to take the islands in the name of France. AUCKLAND CHOSEN AS CAPITAL. Governor Hobson quickiy decided that Russell, the town he founded on arrival at the Bay of Islands, was not a suitable capital. In dealing with the site eventually selected on the banks of the Waitemata, Mr. Reeves, in his book, says: — “ He made so good a choice that his name is likely to be remembered therefore as long as New Zealand lasts. By founding the City cf Auckland he not only took up a strategic position which cut the Maori tribes almost in half, but selected an unrivalled trading centre. The narrow neck of land on which Auckland stands, between the winding Waitemata on the east, and the broader Manukau Harbour on the west, will, before many years, be spread from side to side, by a great mercantile city. Governor Hobson died at Auc’ lmd in 1842, and in 1843 arrived to succeed him Governor Fitzroy. The latter got filing) into such a pretty pickle that in 1845 hwas replaced by Captain George Grey, who had extricated South Australia from her troubles. A war with a section of the Ngapuhi tribe under ileke and Kawhiti in the north, which Fitzroy had conducted with fatal results to British prestige, Grey, by decisive and active steps, quickly suppressed, but trouble with the natives in the Wellington province, taking the form cf a guerilla warfare, although not characterised by any seri ui engagement, took longer to completely stamp out. EARLY TROUBLES. Many of the troubles and anxieties of the early settlers will probably remain unwritten history. The Government was supported by a wholly insufficient military force, and had to rely very much upon the goodwill of the chiefs. The first serious alarm among the settlers of the North was caused bv the intelligence of the fall of Kororareka, and the news that Heke meant to attack Auckland. It waa reported at the time that 2000 natives were willing to join him in an

expedition against the capital. A special meeting of the Legislative Council, held on March 15, 1845, ordered that the Auckland barracks be made impregnable against musketery for the protection of women and children, and th.it all the male inhabitants be sworn in special constables. At a much later period the Government was unable to punish native offenders when opposition was offered. The Hon. Mr Swainsori, in his interesting work on New Zealand, relates a case where a native, convicted of th?ft and sentenced in the court at Auckland, was rescued by his friends in court who had been listening to the trial, and, upon its conclusion, started up and, brandishing their tomahawks, carried off’ the prisoner in the face of Judge and court officers. In 1851, Auckland was threatened with attack, arising out of the difficulty in executing justice. A native had been taken into custody in Auckland on a charge of theft, when a scuttle ensued, and an innocent chief was knocked down by a native policeman and lodged in gaol, but at once liberated. The chief left in high dudgeon, and, returning with three hundred armed warriors, landed in Mechanics’ Bay. and derifanded that the policeman be given up. By a diplomatic negotiation his wrath was appeased, and he departed in peace. I’pen the wdiole, however, justice was very fairly administered even in those days between natives and Europeans. GRANTING OF A REPRESENTATIVE CONSTITUTION. From 1840 to 1852 the colony was governed by an Executive and Legislative Council, nominated by the Crown to act in conjunction with the Government. Several proposals for a representative constitution were propounded, but were pronounced unsuitable for the peculiar circumstances of the colony—the absence of any central point of settlement, and the difficulties of communication b ‘tween the settled communities along th i coast rendering the framing of a Constitution adapted to the requirements of the country a difficult task. But, although deprived of a voice in the control of colonial matters, the settlers were encouraged by Sir Geo. Grey during his first term of Governorship to exercise large functions of self-government. He created extensive endowments, and granted a charter to the settlers of Auckland of a very liberal charact.'r, which endowed them not only with all the p >wers of an English municipality within the city, but empowered them to administer the affairs of the surrounding districts, where settlement was rapidly extending. But the colonists exhibited great indifference; the country settlers were afraid of being taxed by the citizens, and allowed the charter to fall in. In 1852, a Constitution, framed by Sir G?orge Grey upon the most liberal basis yet conceded to a colony, was pass'd through tiic British Parliament, although with some alterations which have since proved a source of mischief. It created a Colonial Legislature, consisting of two Chambeis—an elective House of Representatives and a nominated Legislative Council; it also divided the colony into six provinces—Auckland, Well in’tea. New Plymouth (afterwards changed to Taranaki), Nelson, Canterbury, and Otago, with Provincial Legislatures possessing large powers. Under this system of local control, settlement prospered rapidly in each of the siv isolated centres. The first sear »on oi the General Assembly under the new Constitution was convened for May 24, 1854, by Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard, C 8., the officer in command of the troops, who l>erame Administrator of the Government during the oik

Bence of Sir George Grey, who left the colony for England on leave of absence on December 31, 1853. The Provincial Councils had previously met for the despatch of business. PROGRESS OF THE COLONY.

Upon arrival in England the able administration of Sir George Grey, notwithstanding his refusal on more than one occasion to carry out the inistructions of the Imperial Government when they were opposed to the interests of the settlers, more particularly in connection with the New Zealand Company’s claims, was recognised by his promotion to the Governorship of Cape Colony. He was succeeded by Colonel Thomas Gore Browne, C. 8., who did not arrive in the colony until the 4th September, 1855. Colonel Wynyard in the meanwhile continuing the administration of the Government. The growth of settlement during Governor Browne’s term was steady. The value of the Southern pastoral lands became recognised, and population in that part of the colony increased. The native trade in the province of Auckland was very large, consisting of wheat, maize, potatoes, and other agricultural produce. It is estimated that two thousand canoes, besides many larger vessels, owned by natives, came up to Auckland with produce annually, taking in return European goods, tobacco, sugar, etc. This trade was of the utmost importance to settlers in those days. Between the years 1848 and 1855 a careful Admiralty’s survey of the coast of the colony was made by H.M.S.’s Acheron and Pandora, commanded by Captain Stokes and Commander Drury. The Legislature in 1858 created the Province of Hawke’s Bay by dis severing the north-east portion of the Province of Wellington, and in 1859 a portion of the Province of Nelson was constituted the Province of Marlborough. In 1861, gold was discovered in Otago and caused a great influx of population from Victoria. During the same year the southern part of Otago was created into the Province of Southland, but a re-amalgamation took place in 1868. The discovery of goldfields on the West Coast also led to the creation of the Province of Westland in 1867. In other respects, the divisions of the colony remained as provided under the original Constitution, until the provinces and their councils were finally abolished in 186, and sixty-three counties were created to carry on the work of iocal government. THE MAORI KING MOVEMENT. From the close of Heke's war, in 1846, the colony enjoyed fourteen years of peace, during which settlements grew, not so rapidly as in later years, but very steadily, and friendly relations were maintained between the settlers and the natives. During the concluding years of Governor Browne’s administration, however, trouble began to gather A movement for the creation of a Maori King had originated some years previously, the most earnest advocate of the project being Wiremu Tamihana Tarapipipi (William Thompson). A large meeting was held on the banks of the Waikato to discuss the subject, when opinion was very much divided. The leaders of the movement declared that their sole desire was to provide for the better government of the natives, and professed the utmost friendliness towards the Queen. Te Wherowhero, a chief of the highest rank, was elected King, under the title of Potatau I. He had alw’ajs been on friendly terms with the Government, and was a trusted adviser of Sir George Grey in Maori matters. For a considerable period he enjoyed the Government bounty, and occupied a cottage on the site now known as the Domain Gardens, Auckland. He died in 1860, little apprehending the serious evil which lhe unhappy movement was destined to bring on his people. Manuhiri, who subsequently became the King’-. Prime Minister, resided many yeai -<i dangT*-. on the banks ol the Manukau, ami was an active Chri- inn worker. The other leaders of the move nient ha 1 also held friendly relations with the settlers. 1 Illi oI'TBRE \K-!N TARANAKI. The id* a of a possible Maori nationality spread among the tribes of the Waikato, Ea*t (’oust, Upper Thames, Piako, Taranaki, and other districts, and formed a bond of union which held together the uio.it discordant elements. Eady in 1860, a dispute arose with reference to the title to some GOO acres of la ml in Taranaki, known as the Waitara Block, which bad been purchased by the

Government from a native named Teira. The occupation of the Crown was resisted by the chief William King, who claimed the block. As subsequent investigation showed, the land really belonged to King, and Teira had no right to sell it. Before this was discovered, however, Governor Browne, in accordance with the advice of the StaffordRichmond Ministry, determined to enforce the Queen’s authority, and he occupied the block with a military force. This seemed to furnish a pretext long desired by tie natives, whose slumbering hostility now found vent, and the colony was plunged into war. The campaign that followed was a singular exhibition of irresolution, vacillation, and mismanagement on the part of the Government. The settlers were driven into New Plymouth, their homes burned and plundered, and their farms devasted, and finally an unsubstantial truce was made, which left the natives virtually victors in possession of the field. The result of this outbreak was disastrous to European prestige throughout New Zealand; the King movement was strengthened, and the natives became emboldened in their rebellion. The losses on the side of the European forces weia 67 killed and 143 wounded; it is also estimated that about 100 settlers died from the effects of the exposure and privations they suffered. Their losses were about £ 150,000. The war cost the Imperial Government £500,000, and the Colonial Government £200,000. Governor Gore Browne’s term of office expired in 1861. and Sir George Grey, K.C.8., who had gained additional distinction during his Governorship of Cape Colony, was again urgently pressed by the Imperial Government, to undertake the Governorship of New Zealand. He entered upon the difficult duties of his office in Oetoebr 3rd, 1861, and in December following was made Commander-in-Chief of the Colonial Forces. The natives in Waikato, Taranaki, and a portion of the Wellington provinces, were now thoroughly rebellious, and the Maori King was openly proclaimed by William Thompson, who went so far as to demand the recognition by the Governor of the native sovereignty over Maoridom. Colonial politicians were divided into two great contending parties—one for peace and conciliation, and the other for vigorous war. The Government now, in order to remove the trivial and unworthy ground of hostility which had hitherto placed the action of the colonists in an unfavourable light as deliberately provoking a needless war, surrendered their claims to the Waitara Block. The disaffection had, however, by this time spread too far to be peacefully removed, and the ground of contention then became, and continued throughout the war in Taranaki and Auckland, the sovereignty of the Maori King and the inviolability of his teridtory, which the insurgents declared their determination to uphold. On the 4th of June, 1863, General Cameron, in person, led a strong party by land against Katikara pa, and H.M.S. Eclipse assisted by shelling the rebel position from the sea. The natives were routed with great slaughter, leaving their pa in the hands of the British troops. This decisive defeat terminated the campaign in Taranaki, and dispirited the hitherto elated rebels. THE WAIKATO CAMPAIGN. Matters in Waikato had now culminated into such hostile demonstrations as necessitated immediate action. General Cameron, therefore, prepared for the removal of the scene of operations. The Volunteers and Militia were called out, and detachments for the protection of the city established at Otahuhu and Drury. On the 10th July, 1863, little more than a month from the date of the successful engagement in Taranaki, General Cameron established his headquarters at Pokeno, 34 miles south of Auckland. The rebels commenced defensive works on the western slope of the Koheroa Range, and, on the 17th July, before they had time to entrench themselves, General Cameron, with a force of 500 men. attacked and dislodged them, driving them inland, ami they took up new ground at Meremere. It is impossible in our brief space to record the many events of the campaign in Waikato and on the East Coast, or the subsequent expeditions against Titokowaru ami the rebellions tribes between Wellington and Taranaki, which laid waste the settlement at Patea. It is much easier to point to the result 9. In the course of the war the Imperial forces were increased to 10,000 troop 9. Large bodies of men were raised by the Colonial Got-

eminent in Australia, under promises of land grants at the elose of the campaign. Altogether not less than 15,000 men were in active service. The insurgents in the Waikato experienced a succession of defeats. Ngaruawahia, the capital of the King and the sacred spot where his ancestors were buried, was captured on December 8, 1863, without resistance. The rebel forces still retreating inland, after various engagements, made their last stand at Orakau. Here 300 men gallantly defied 1500 troops who completely surrounded the pa, cutting off all supplies of food and water from the brave defenders. Even when the sap which was opened by the besiegers had reached the pa, the Maoris refused to surrender or to send out their women and children, sending forth in reply to the General’s demand for their submission that famous cry of defiance: “ We will fight on. Ake, ake, ake (for ever, for ever, for ever)! ” Finsilly, whets Mie position became untenable, the defenders made a rush to escape, a remnant succeeding, but 123 were killed, and 33, some of them wounded, were taken prisoners. Thus ended the Waikato war. A proclamation inviting rebels to come in and take oath of allegiance was promulgated, with little response, and the whole of the conquered territory was then confiscated, and settled under a military scheme. As already stated, a body of military settlers had been enlisted, chiefly in the neighbouring colonies, in a corps known as the Waikato Militia, The terms of their engagement were a three years’ military service and a free grant of land at the close. These settlers occupied the confiscated territory at the close of the war, but soon afterwards mostly disposed of their lands. The war left a good military road to Waikato, which is now supplemented by a railway, and the scene of Auckland’s greatest danger and trouble has become the source of much of its prosperity, present and prospective. GUERILLA WARFARE. Although the back of the rebellion was broken by General Cameron’s operations in Waikato, the natives of the East Coast were in an excited and rebellious condition. After inflicting a reverse on General Cameron’s troops at Gate Pa, outside Taurang , they were totally routed at Te Ranga. The remainder of •the natives under arms on the East Coast then gave in then- submission, but native disturbance, especially in the country between Wanganui and New Plymouth, continued in the form of a guerilla warfare up to the close of 1868, >-.e density of the forest favouring the hostile bands which prowled about the country. A fanatic named Te Ua gave a ghastly turn to these operations by instituting it new religion called “Pai Marire,” which later on took a new form of worship and became known as the Hauhau superstition. Having killed Captain Lloyd of H.M. 57th Regiment and six men in an ambuscade at Taranaki, Te Ua’s followers stuck the heads of their victims upon poles and marched through the country, indulging in the most revolting rites. On the Wanganui River these fanatics received a severe check from a friendly chief named Mete Kingi, who invited a band of Hauhaus under a chief named Matene to a battle on a small island in the river, to test whether their prophet’s guarantee to make them bullet proof would stand the test of rifle practice. The wild incantations of the Hauhaus frightened many of the friendly natives, and they were driven to a corner of the island, but rallying they defeated the rebels, killing forty on the island and many more in the river. The Hauhau superstition spread to the East Coast, where some atrocities were perpetrated, including the murder of the Rev. Carl Volkner at Opotiki. in March, 1865, and Mr Fulloon, a half-caste interpreter at Whakatane, in July of the same year. Detachments of Imperial and Colonial troops and friendly natives followed these fanatics >■ rough the country, and succeeded in breaking them up in a series of sharp engagements, ami by the end of 1866 hostilities had ceased. 1 n 1867 only one Imperial regiment remained in the colony, anil the Colonial Government intimated that they no longer desired its retention. Sir George Grey, who had long been at variance with the Imperial Government, was recalled at this time. The renewal of native disturbance', delayed the final departure of the troops, the last detachment of which did not leave the colony until February, IsfO. Peace continued until May, 1868, when Titoko i iru, a chief on the West Coast,

took up arms against the Government, and in the campaign that ensued, Colonel McDonnell, who commanded the colonial forces, captured Titokowaru’s pa at Ngutu-o-te-manu. Soon afterwards his force suffered a reverse in an attempt to surprise Ruaruru, and was obliged to retreat, leaving behind the dead, which included Captain Von Tempsky, a gallant officer who had distinguished himself during the war. On the Ith of July, 1868, a party of Maori prisoners, taken during the wars and banished to Chatham Islands, landed at Poverty Bay from the schooner Rifleman, which they had seizrtl. The party comprised 163 men, 67 women and 71 children, under the leadership of a native named Te Kooti. After reaching New Zealand they showed a disposition to escape quietly into the interior, but were pursued by the Colonial forces, and minor engagements took place. On the 7th November a number of Te Kooti’s followers fell upon the village of Matawhero, in Poverty Bay, during the night, and massacred 29 Europeans and 32 friendly natives, sparing neither women nor children. This atrocity kindled the anger of the Ngatiporou tribe, to which the slaughtered natives belonged, and 220 of them, under the chief Ropata, joined the small European force at Gisborne, and they defeated Te Kooti at Makaretu, killing 37 of his followers. Te Kooti then entrenched himself in a strong position at Ngatapa, where he was attacked by a combined European and native force, under Colonel Whitmore. The pa was captured, and 138 of its defenders. killed. Te Kooti, though wounded, escaped. For nearly three years he was chased through the wilds of the interior by European and native forces. His followers having been broken up in a number of engagements, he took refuge in the King Country, where he obtained an asylum, and it was not deemed expedient to widen the sphere of hostilities by following him. He remained there until the time of his death, many years later, and caused no further breach of the peace. In the operations against Titokowaru, Colonel Whitmore succeeded Colonel McDonnell. Several sharp engagements occurred, Major Kemp and a contingent of Wanganui natives materially assisting the Colonial forces, and by March, 1869, Titokowaru was driven into the forest, where he was left to his own devices. He gave no further trouble until he came on the scene ten years later as a henchman of the prophet Te Whiti, in a peaceful resistance of the occupation of lands that were confiscated on the West Coast. Since the latte incident, which led to the arrest of Te Whiti and a large number of his followers at Parihaka in November, 1881, nothing has occurred to seriously imperil the peaceful relations between the Maoris and colonists. SUCCESSION OF GOVERNORS. Sir George Grey’s last term of office terminated on the sth February, 1868, and he was succeeded by Sir George F. Bowen, G.C.M.G., who continued Governor until the 10th March, 1873. From then until the 14th June, 1873, Sir Geo. A. Arney, Chief Justice, administered the Government, and on that date Sir James Fergusson, Bart., P.C., arrived, and held office till the 27th November, 1874, when he was succeeded by his Excellency the Marquis of Normanby, who held office until February 21st, 1879. His successors were: Sir Hercules Robinson, March 27th. 1879, until September Sth, 1880; Sir Arthur Gordon. November 29th, 1880, till June 23rd. 1882; Sir William Jervois, January 20th, 1883, to March 22nd, 1889; Earl of Onslow. May 2nd, 1889, to February 24th, 1892; Earl of Glasgow, June 7th. 1892. to February 6th, 1897; the Earl of Ranfurly, G.C.M.G,. August 10, 1897 to June 19. 1904: the Rt. Hon. William Lee. Baron Plunket, K.C.M.G., from June 2, 1904. PROGRESS OF COLONISATION—< POPULATION, ROADS, AND RAILWAYS. Through all its varied vicissitudes ths colony made rapid progress in settlement and prosperity. In 1851, the population was 26,707; in 1856, 45,540; in 1861, 99,021; and in the following five years, notwithstanding the war, it more than doubled its population, the census of 1866 showing the European inhabitants to number 204,114. This was no doubt due in very large fiieasure to the discovery of gold in Otago and on the north-west coast of the South Island (at Hokitika), and also to the activity in Auckland caused by a large war expenditure. During the wnr, settlement

was neglected, and the period that followed the withdrawal of troops was one of great commercial depression, intensified by the low price of wool, which had now become the chief article of export, but still good progress was made, mainly through the large yields from the goldfields, which had been extended by the discovery of rieh quartz reefs at the Thames, in the province of Auckland. The quinquennial census of 1871 showed the population to be 260,986. In 1870 the colony adopted a large scheme of immigration and public works propounded by Mr. (now Sir Julius) Vogel; wool revived; the goldfields were being profitably worked in Otago, on the west coast of the Middle Island, and at the Thames; agriculture was extending; timber and shipbuilding employed a large number of men; and the colony entered upon a period of unexampled prosperity.

New Zealand’s record for the last thirty years and more has been one of almost unbroken progress. It is true that this country, like all other British colonies, suffered from the heavy fall in the prices of our staple commodities, and the consequent depreciation of land values that occurred in the early eighties. Heavy speculation in land and unsound finance precipitated a crisis that for the time paralysed our commerce and industries, and left a legacy of liabilities that it has taken many years to work off. But though New Zealand has had its seasons of financial gloom and disaster, reaching a climax in the collapse of our chief bank, no temporary disaster of this sort has ever been able to cheek our development for long. The bold and original way in which the Bank of New Zealand crisis was dealt with showed clearly enough the confident and enterprising spirit of our rulers, and the comprehensive but adaptable nature of the policy that the country had by this time adopted as its own. PROGRESSIVE LEGISLATION. It may be true that no country ever succeeds or fails solely by virtue of its political .programme. But though Democratic Liberalism has not created prosperity for New Zealand, the rapid development of the colony and the splendid success with which its natural resources have been exploited may be fairly attributed in large measure to the extension of the functions of government, and the growth of what is usually called State Socialism in this country during the last quarter' of a, century. The initiation of the new system may be fairly said to d’ate back to the public worries policy propagated with such vigour and success by Sir Julius Vogel in 1870-1. On the assumption that it was the duty of the State to provide facilities for internal communication, and that this duty ought not to be . delegated to the local governments, it followed, as a logical necessity, that the old provincial system was in the eyes of the reformers already obsolete. And so we find, by 1876, that, public opinion having acquiesced in the new order of things, the provinces have been swept out of existence. From that time onward the State has been constantly assuming more and more public functions and duties that were once left to local discretion or private enterprise; until to-day New Zealand is generally recognised as leading the world in “experimental legislation” for the promotion of the general well-being, and more especially for the protection of the interests of the wage-earner. It should be unnecessary to enter into elaborate details as to the nature of the extraordinary progressive legislation by which our history has been marked within the last thirty years. Allowing for occasional reactions, and in spite of the strenuous resistance of the relatively few survivors of the old Conservative school, the tone of our laws for the past generation has been wholly in sympathy with that vise and far-reaching maxim which makes the sole and supreme test of State activity “the greatest good of the greatest possible number.” It was for the sake of this principle that Government, in 1893 decided to help the Bank of New Zealand through its difficulties, in spite of the traditional objections to “State interference” in private financial affairs. It is the same sweeping and conclusive argument that justifies our Arbitration Court, our Labour laws, our Land laws, our Old Ag 0 Pensions, our Local Option, our Women’s Franchise, and our free, compulsory and secular” system

of education. Not even the most ardent Liberal can claim that our democratic legislation alone has made all the difference to the country between success and failure. But in the first place we can at least urge that the predictions of the Conservative party that the country would be ruined by “State interference ” have been abundantly disproved; and in the second place we may fairly argue that on the whole more benefit than injury has accrued to the country through the policy so long associated with tho honoured mjmes of Sir George Grey and Mr. Ballance, Sir John McKenzie and Mr. Seddon. A STATISTICAL RETROSPECT. But perhaps a few miscellaneous facts may do more than such rather vague generalities to bring clearly before the eyes of our readers the nature of the country’s development within the last thirty years, and up to the present time. In 1870 the total population of the colony, excluding Maoris, was 248,400. By 1891 it had risen to 634,05?, and by the time the last census was taken it was 936,431, with nearly 48,000 Maoris in addition. The number of holdings over one acre in extent increased from 10,211 in 1870, with a total area of 1,140,279 acres of cultivated land, to 66,092 in 1903, with an area of 13,504,004 acres. The total capital value of the land in the colony in 1878 was £99,568,679, and unimproved value £62,573,868. By 1906 these valuations had increased to £218,422,522 and £137,168,548 respectively. Oui' list of live stock, as becomes a country which must long depend chiefly on its agricultural and pastoral industries, is imposing in magnitude and value. By 1871 the colony owned 81,000 horses, Which had increased in 1905-6 to 326,537. Our cattle did not pass the million mark till 1895-6, and in 1905-6 they were calculated to number 1,810,936. Our sheep in 1871 were put down at a little over 11,700,000,and by 1902-3 they had attained the huge total of 20,342,727. Since then the immense expansion of the frozen meat trade has somewhat retarded their growth; but in 1905-6 they were estimated to number considerably over 19,100,000; and at the present time the estimate is 20,030,000, or 1,750,000 more tnan two years ago. When we add that New Zealand’s frozen meat exports for the financial year ending March, 190 b, were worth £2,434,217, covering l,ulB- - carcases of frozen mutton, 1,932.200 carcases of frozen lamb, and 155,086 cwt of frozen beef, we have surely produced sufficient reason to account for the great prosperity that has attended the progress of our great extractive industries. Other details of our agricultural and pastoral growth tell the same tale of a marvellously rapid and lucrative expansion. Our 222,000 acres of wheat land last season averaged 30 bushels per acre; and this has been tho average for the past ten years. We raised last year 12 700,000 bushels of oats, 1,024,000 bushels of barley, 633,000 bushels of maize, 987,000 bushels of rye grass, 8,783,5711bs of cocksfoot, and 123,400 tons of potatoes; and our total area under crops, grass and other forms of cultivation last year, was over 14,000.000 acres. The area of land occupied in New Zealand is already considerably more than half the area of the colony and its outlying islands. We have over 35.470.000 acres in grass, of which 12,525,000 acres have been sown in English seed. On this point it need only be added that the New Zealand acreage of land under sown grasses is six times greater than the area thus laid down in the whole of Australia and Tasmania; while our grass land is estimated to be about nine times as productive as Australian grass land per acre. Of the produce derived more or less directly from the soil, it is enough to point out that our wool clip last year included 414,600 bales, valued at £6,028,093, which works out at nearly £6 10/ per head of population, including Maoris; our butter export amounted to 314.165 cwt, realising about £1.697.000: our cheese export was about 121.330 cwt in weight, and £377.000 in

value; and our flax or hemp output was valued at £690.000.

This remarkable activity in our staple industries h|s naturally involved the rapid extension of our trade. Our total exports for 1906 were put down at £16.109.735. amounting to alxrnt £l7 6/ per head of population, including Maoris. Our total trade for the year was valued at £28,123.000. or over £3O per head of population, native and European. It is important to observe that our trade with the United Kingdom in 1905 stood for £ 19,883,000, or almost 70 per cent of our

whole external trade. The gold exported by the colony in 1906 was valued at £2,117,000; and during the fifty yehrs which have elapsed since the dis; edvery of gold in this colony, we have exported over £67,754,000 worth of the precious metal. Of other mineral wealth it may be mentioned that up to the end of 1905, the colony had produced 21,686,000 tons of coal, which has, of course, been of incalculable benefit in the development of our domestic manufactures. By 1901, the census returns showed that the total value of land, machinery, and buildings employed in our manufactures had risen to nearly £8,000,000 sterling, showing an increase of over £2,163,000 in five years. So long ago as 1900 the wages paid in our factories amounted to nearly £3,100,000, and they have been increasing proportionately ever since. Among the most important factors in our commercial and industrial progress have been the excellence of our means of transport and communication. As to railways, by March, 1906, there were 2407 miles of State railways and 113 miles of privately owned lines open for traffic; and the total cost of the Government lines to that date was nearly £22.500,000. The value of these great. State assets must, of course, be kept steadily in view when we consider the gross liability of the colony which has accumulated a public debt of about £62,191,000, or about £66 10/0 per head of the entire population. As to sea-borne traffic, the colony owns 271 steam vessels of 127,96 tons, and in the Union Steamship Company, more especially it has a national asset of which any country in the world might well be proud. The 340 sailing vessels registered in the colony total 43,847 tons; while, apart from the large volume of foreign trade, the coastwise returns for 1905 show that the local trade was represented by over 19.000,000 tons of shipping, entered and cleared, during tho year. THE WEALTH OF THE COUNTRY. The natural effect of all this prosperity is to be seen in the countless evidences of national wealth which a glance at our Official Year Book or a Government Blue Book reveals. Our total revenue for the last financial year was over £7,500,000, or about £8 per head of population. The aggregate private wealth of the people, calculated on the basis of five years’ figures, was in 1905 £258,710,000, or nearly £3OO per head of population. Our Post Office Savings Bank holds over £8,622,000, which means that about £3l 7/6 on the average is standing to the credit of nearly 277,009 open accounts. The total gross receipts ami payments of our I’osl.il Department in 1905 were over 0 36,361,000 New Zealand's five private banks held in 1906 about £20.600,000 in deposits, with £4,660,000 in coin and bullion, against a circulation of £1,015,000. Our State Life Insurance Department, one of the most distinctly “ experimental ’’ of our public institutions, held £3,822 577 in accumulated funds at the end of 1905, and its assets were valued at nearly £ 4 000,000 sterling, while since its foundation 37 years ago it has paid on death claims and matured endowments not less than £3.000,000. The Stale Advances to Settlers Office for the year ending March, 1901’ granted 1707 loans for a total of £633.100, and it has now on its books nearly 10.000 mortgages, totrlling over £3.126,000. Yet the Department boasts that it has never lost on its transactions. Up to the same date the New Zealand Government had spent £4,124,679 in purchasing estates for closer settlement, and the rents received from tenants have so far totalled over £925.000 In Old \ge Pensions for the year ending March, 1960, the Stalo paid £253,902 and since the inauguration of the system in 18911. the total expenditure under this head has been over one and a half millions sterling. A fitting climax to these mi- ellaneous facts Is tho expenditure of nearly £ 700 000 a year on eduration. which is now in a fair way to realise the Liberal idea by i«-mg made free of cost from the primary school right up to the University College. CONI LUSION. Comparisons between the present conditions of tlie country in all these respects ".nd its past ar- almost superfluous. for it is only a little over fifty years since our political existence began, and all that we have now to show as proof of our advancement in wealth and pros|s .'tv is tire growth of little more than half a century. No other country in the

world, we firmly believe, can boast a better record for so short a term of life. And with our growth in material affluence has naturally proceeded the consolidation of our social and constitutional system. All the elements that go to the making of a great nation exist now in this highly favoured land; and most of tho hindrances that might have obstructed our development have been smoothed away. The Maori problem, with which we have dwelt at length in its earlier stages, has ceased to be the bugbear of our politicians. The Maoris still number close on 50,000, but the race is not increasing; and the hostility that so long unhappily kept the whites and natives apart has now wholly disappeared. Tho removal of the embargo on the sale of native lands will be the next decisive, step in the promotion of settlement in these islands; and a scheme with this object in view is already under the consideration of Government. There is now no cloud on the horizon, no sign that could be interpreted as an omen of ill fortune to the growing nation that one day will bo numbered among the rulers of the Pacific. It is not the fault, of our statesmen that New Zealand has not already taken its rightful place with Australia as the centre of a whole series of British colonies and dependencies in the Pacific. Samoa and New Guinea and the New Hebrides would all have flown tho British flag if our statesmen could have had their way. But though we have not been able wholly to control our own destiny in this respect, the rulers of New Zealand have never doubted that we were “foredoomed to greatness.” New Zealand is too independent, too individualistic in character ever to accept the subordinate, position into which it would have inevitably fallen if it had accepted Australia’s offer, and become a member of the Commonwealth. We are content to be one of the self-governing States that form the British Empire; and the great crisis of the South African war has proved, if proof were needed, that we appreciate the ties of loyalty and patriotism, and that we estimate justly our responsibilities which our relationship to England involves. It is because the acceptance of the new title that England has offered us gives us a higher Imperial status, and raises us above the rank which we held half a century ago that we value it, ami celebrate its acquisition as a national honour; and we can at least bo sure that our country as a “Dominion ’ in its progress, its material success. its political sanity, ni’d its devotion to tho Empire and th- Old Land, will fully justify the hopes and a.-pirations that have ruled our counsels and guided our stops over since “the old colonial