The Treaty of Waitangi Part 8

MAORI TRANSLATION OF THE TREATY OF WAITANGI AS PRINTED AT THE PRESS OF THE CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY, PAIHIA

KO, WIKITORIA, te Kuini o Ingarani i tana mahara atawai ki nga Rangatira me nga Hapu, o Nu Tirani, i tana hiahia hoki kia tohungia ki a ratou o ratou rangatiratanga, me to ratou whenua, a kia mau tonu hoki te Rongo ki a ratou me te ata noho hoki kau wakaaro ia he mea tike kia tukua mai tetahi Rangatira hei kai wakarite ki nga tangata Maori o Nu Tirini. Kia wakaaetia e nga Rangatira Maori te Kawanatanga o te Kuini ki nga wahi katoa o te wenua hei me nga motu.

Na te mea hoki he tokomaha ke nga tangata o tona iwi kua noho ki tenei wenua, a e mai nei.

Na, ko te Kuini e hiahia ana kia wakaritea te Kawanatanga, kia kaua ai nga kino e puta mai ki te tangata Maori ki te pakeha e noho enoho ture kore ana.

Na, kau pai te Kuini kia tukua a hau, a Wiremu Hopihona, he Kapitana i te Roiara Nawi, hei Kawana mo nga wahi katoa o Nu Tirini, e tukua aianei amua atu ki te Kuini e mea atu ana ia ki nga Rangatira o te Wakaminenga o nga Hapu o Nu Tirini me era Rangatira atu enei ture ka korerotia nei.

_Ko te tuatahi_

Ko nga Rangatira o te Wakaminenga, me nga Rangatira katoa hoki, kihai i uru ki taua Wakaminenga, ka tuku rawa atu ki te Kuini o Ingarani ake tonu atu te Kawanatanga katoa o ratou wenua.

_Ko te tuarua_

Ko te Kuini o Ingarani ka wakarite ka wakaae ki nga Rangatira, ki nga Hapu, ki nga tangata katoa o Nu Tirini, te tino Rangatiratanga o o ratou wenu o ratu kainga me o ratu taonga katoa. Otiia ko nga Rangatira o te Wakaminenga me nga Rangatira katoa atu, ka tuku ki te Kuini te hokonga o era wahi wenua e pai ai te tangata nona te wenua, ki te ritenga o te utu e wakaritea ai e ratou ko te kai hoko e meatia nei e te Kuini hei kai hoko mona.

_Ko te tuatoru_

Hei wakaritenga mai hoki mo te wakaaetanga ki te Kawanatanga o te Kuini. Ka tiakina e te Kuini o Ingarani nga tangata Maori katoa o Nu Tirani. Ka tukua ki a ratou nga tikanga katoa rite tahi ki ana mea ki nga tangata o Ingarani.

WILLIAM HOBSON, Consul and Lieutenant-Governor.

Na ko matou, ko nga Rangatira o te Wakaminenga o nga Hapu o Nu Tirani, ka huihui nei ki Waitangi. Ko matou hoki ko nga Rangatira o Nu Tirani, ka kite nei i te ritenga o enei kupa, ka tangohia, ka wakaaetia katoatia e matou. Koia ka tohungia ai o matou ingoa o matou tohu.

Ka meatia tenei ki Waitangi, i te ono o nga ra o Pepuere, i te tau kotahi mano, ewaru rau, ewa tekau, o to tatou Ariki.

A TRANSLATION OF THE TREATY OF WAITANGI INTO ENGLISH FROM THE ORIGINAL MAORI

Here's Victoria, Queen of England, in her gracious remembrance towards the chiefs and tribes of New Zealand, and in her desire that the chieftainships and their lands should be secured to them and that obedience also should be held by them, and the peaceful state also; has considered it as a just thing, to send here some chief to be a person to arrange with the native men of New Zealand, that the Governorship of the Queen may be a.s.sented to by the native chiefs in all places of the land, and of the islands. Because too many together are the men of her tribe who have sat down in this land and are coming hither.

Now it is the Queen who desires that the Governorship may be arranged that evils may not come to the native men, to the white who dwells lawless. There! Now the Queen has been good that I should be sent, William Hobson, a Captain of the Royal Navy, a Governor for all the places in New Zealand that are yielded now or hereafter to the Queen.

She says to the Chiefs of the a.s.semblage (Confederation) of the tribes of New Zealand, and other chiefs besides, these laws which shall be spoken now.

Here's the first: Here's the chief of the a.s.semblage, and all the chiefs also who have not joined the a.s.semblage mentioned, cede to the utmost to the Queen of England for ever continually to the utmost the whole Governorship of their lands.

Here's the second: Here's the Queen of England arranges and confirms to the chiefs, to all the men of New Zealand the entire chieftainship of their lands, their villages, and all their property.

But here's the chiefs of the a.s.semblage, and all the chiefs besides, yield to the Queen the buying of those places of land where the man whose land it is shall be good to the arrangement of the payment which the buyer shall arrange to them, who is told by the Queen to buy for her.

Here's the third: This, too, is an arrangement in return for the a.s.sent of the Governorship of the Queen. The Queen of England will protect all the native men of New Zealand. She yields to them all the rights, one and the same as her doings to the men of England.

Now here's we: Here's the chiefs of the a.s.semblage of the tribes of New Zealand who are congregated at Waitangi. Here's we too. Here's the chiefs of New Zealand, who see the meaning of these words, we accept, we entirely agree to all. Truly we do mark our names and marks.

This is done at Waitangi on the six of the days of February, in the year one thousand eight hundred and four tens of our Lord.

The whole subject was now before the meeting for discussion, and the chiefs were invited to express their views upon it, or to make any enquiries upon points that were still obscure. There being some little hesitancy displayed Mr. Busby rose and, addressing the natives, a.s.sured them that the Governor had not come to deprive them of their lands, but rather to secure them in possession of what they had not already sold. He reminded them that he had frequently given them his word that land not properly acquired from them would not be recognised as the property of the person claiming it, but would be returned to the natives, to whom it rightly belonged. He was proceeding to say that this promise the Governor would of a certainty be prepared to carry out, when suddenly he was interrupted by Te Kemara, a chief of the Ngatikawa tribe, who, springing from his place in front of the platform exclaimed:

"Health to thee, O Governor. This is mine to thee, O Governor. I am not pleased towards thee. I will not consent to thy remaining here in this country. If thou stayest as Governor then perhaps Te Kemara will be judged and condemned. Yes, indeed, and more than that--even hung by the neck. No, no, no, I shall never say 'Yes' to your staying. Were all to be on an equality, then perhaps Te Kemara would say, 'Yes.' But for the Governor to be up and Te Kemara down--Governor high up, up up, and Te Kemara down low, small, a worm, a crawler. No, no, no. O Governor! this is mine to thee, O Governor! my land is gone, gone, all gone. The inheritances of my ancestors, fathers, relatives, all gone, stolen, gone with the Missionaries. Yes, they have it all, all, all.

That man there, the Busby, and that man there, the Williams, they have my land. The land on which we are now standing this day is mine. This land, even this under my feet, return this to me. O Governor! return me my lands. Say to Williams 'Return to Te Kemara his land.'" With outstretched finger he ran and pointed to the Missionary, "Thou, thou, thou, thou bald-headed man, thou hast got my lands. O Governor! I do not wish thee to stay. You English are not kind to us like other foreigners. You do not give us good things. I say go back, go back, Governor, we do not want thee here in this country. And Te Kemara says to thee, go back, leave to Busby and to Williams to arrange and to settle matters for us natives as heretofore."

Te Kemara was a master in the art of Maori oratory, and he delivered this speech with much simulated anger. Gesture and grimace were alike extravagant even for a native; his eyes rolled in violent oscillations and flashed with demoniacal fire, while his whole body trembled as though convulsed by pent-up rage. He made a brave show of injured innocence, especially when pleading for the return of his lands. And yet it was not serious: it was mere theatrical display; for not long afterwards he gave evidence before the Land Claims Commissioners, and testified to the fair sale of his land. For the present, however, Maori vanity was satisfied--Te Kemara had made a great speech.

The serious impression made by the hostile deliverance of the Ngatikawa chief was somewhat dispelled by the diversion created when Rewa, of Ngaitawake rose, and, addressing His Excellency in the best English he could command said, "How d'ye do, Mr. Governor?" The sally was so unexpected that it immediately created a roar of laughter, in which all present joined. But Rewa soon became more earnest. He had evidently no intention of being frivolous--"This is mine to thee, O Governor!" he impressively said. "Go back. Let the Governor return to his own country. Let my lands be returned to me which have been taken by the Missionaries--by Davis and by Clarke and by who and who besides. I have no lands now--only a name,[67] only a name. Foreigners come, they know Mr. Rewa, but this is all I have left--a name! What do native men want of a Governor? We are not whites or foreigners. This country is ours, but the land is gone. Nevertheless we are the Governor--we the chiefs of this our Fathers' land. I will not say 'Yes' to the Governor's remaining. No, no, no, return. What! this land to become like Port Jackson and all other lands seen by the English.

No, no, return. I, Rewa, say to thee, O Governor, go back. Send the man away. Do not sign the paper. If you do you will be reduced to the condition of slaves, and be compelled to break stones on the roads.

Your land will be taken from you and your dignity as chiefs will be destroyed."

The next speaker was Moka, a chief of the Patukeha tribe, from Rawhiti, the burden of whose speech was also against the acceptance of the treaty. "Let the Governor return to his own country. Let us remain where we are. Let my lands be returned to me--all of them--those that are gone with Baker. Do not say, 'The lands will be returned to you.'

Who will listen to thee, O Governor? Who will obey thee? Where is Clendon? Where is Mair?[68] Gone to buy, buy our land, notwithstanding the 'book'[69] of the Governor."

On this statement being interpreted to him Captain Hobson immediately stopped the speaker, and in the most earnest manner a.s.sured the gathering that lands unjustly held would be returned, and that after the date of the Proclamation all land, however purchased, would be the subject of enquiry, and no purchases would be lawful until sanctioned by the Crown.

This scarcely sufficed to satisfy the sceptical Moka, who replied, as he advanced close up to the platform, "That is good, O Governor! that is straight. But stay, let me see. Yes, yes, indeed! Where is Baker?

Where is the fellow? Ah, there he is--there standing. Come, return to me my lands?"

Here the orator paused, awaiting a reply. His injunction was addressed to Mr. Baker in the most direct and personal way, so that it could not be evaded. Moka stood leaning against the edge of the platform, looking directly at the Missionary, upon whom all eyes were immediately turned. There was profound silence and the suspense was acute. Mr. Baker did not flinch but quietly replied, "_E hoki, koia_"; in other words, "We shall see whether they will return."

This retort was comfortless to Moka, who exclaimed, "There, there, that is as I said. No, no, no, all false, all false, alike. The lands will not return to me."

He was in the midst of this lamentation when he was again interrupted.

A European came forward, and addressing His Excellency said that the speeches of the natives were not being faithfully interpreted by Mr.

Williams, nor were His Excellency's remarks being fully reported to the natives. He said the natives complained of being robbed, and by a gesture indicated that Mr. Williams was the robber. This he followed up by venturing to suggest that a Mr. Johnson, who was present, could do the work with greater satisfaction to both parties. This was the first open declaration of the general discontent which pervaded the settlers, who were angry because of the Proclamation which had so summarily put an end to their speculations, and which they felt was playing them unfair. They had heard that a Charter had been granted to a rich Company in England, while many of them who had worked long in the land were being, as they thought, overreached by the Government. But the honest settler was not more angry than the land-jobbers, the gamblers of the south, who stood on the outskirts of the crowd, "looking like smugglers foiled in a run, or a pack of hounds lashed off their dying prey," and appeared as if they were taking a vengeful pleasure in thwarting the wishes of authority. Many viewed the proceedings with malignant eyes and smouldering mischief in their hearts, remaining silent themselves, yet prompting others to interrupt; hence these accusations of false interpretation, these irrelevant observations about the Missionaries and Mr. Busby taking advantage of their privileged positions to unfairly acquire land.

Captain Hobson, always willing to be affable, and desirous that nothing should give rise to misunderstanding, begged Mr. Johnson, who was a dealer in spirits at Kororareka, to come forward and do him the favour of making everything clear to natives and Europeans alike.

Johnson, however, was not so confident of his attainments as a Maori linguist as his friend was, and in reply to His Excellency's question whether he fully understood the native language he replied, "Why, I can't say I do, but I know how to speak to them, and know also what they say when they speak to me, and----"

"Then pray tell me, Mr. Johnson, what has not been interpreted?" said Captain Hobson.

To which the modest Johnson replied, "No, Sir, I beg to be excused.

The gentlemen of the Mission ought to be able to do it, and can do it very well; only let Mr. Williams speak out loud so that we may hear--that is, those of us in the back part of the tent, and let all that the natives say be interpreted to the Governor. They say a great deal about land and Missionaries which Mr. Williams does not translate to you."[70]

This reflection both upon his capacity as a linguist and his integrity as a man rather nettled the Missionary, who, having obtained the permission of the Governor to vindicate himself, addressed the white people in English, and with his customary directness came at once to the point. He said there had been much talk about the Missionaries owning land and farming and such like; but the Commissioners who were about to sit would examine into the lands held by the Missionaries, and their t.i.tles thereto, as strictly as into any other. It was his special wish that this should be done, and he had so far given an earnest of his desire in that direction that he had already applied to His Excellency to have the Missionary lands made the first subject of investigation. "People," he said, "should recollect that were it not for the Missionaries they would not be here this day, nor be in possession of a foot of land in New Zealand. If any one person has a prior claim to land in this country that person must be the Missionary, who has laboured for so many years in this land when others were afraid to show their noses. I have a large family--a family of eleven children--more probably than any one present, and what are they to do when I am taken from them if they are not to have some land? Much has been said about my land, but I believe that when it is seen and known, and shared up between my children, no one will say that I have been over the mark, but on the contrary under. All I shall say at present is, I hope that all who hold land, obtained from the natives, will be able to show as good and honest t.i.tles to the same as the Missionaries can do to theirs."[71]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE WAITANGI FALLS.]

Mr. Busby, who owned the whole of the Peninsula between the Waitangi and Kerikeri Rivers, felt that he, too, was being drawn into the vortex of the speculators by these accusations of native spoliation.

He accordingly deemed it due to himself that something should be said in defence of his purchases, and so having obtained the permission of Captain Hobson he rose, and, speaking in English, said with some emphasis, "I deny that the term 'robbed' has been used by the chiefs Te Kemara and Rewa with reference to my purchase of land, as indicated by the white man who spoke, and coupled by him with Mr. Williams, by gestures, though not plainly by words. I never bought any land but what the natives pressed me to buy, for which I always paid them liberally. Allusion has been made to my possessing large tracts of land. I am happy to say I do hold some land; but I did not make any extensive purchases until I was out of office, and then, on my finding that, after having served the Government for fifteen years, not any provision was made, nor was likely to be made for myself and family, I purchased land. I only regret I had not done so at an earlier period, and that to a larger extent. In all my purchases, also, I have reconveyed to the natives both habitations and cultivations, by an inalienable gift, according to the number of persons thereon."

Mr. Busby having delivered his protest against what he considered to be the unwarranted aspersions of the white settler, whose name does not appear to have been recorded, Tamati Pukututu, a chief of the Te Uri-o-te-hawato tribe broke in upon the monotony of the opposition with a speech in favour of the treaty.

"This is mine to thee, O Governor! Sit, Governor, sit, a Governor for us--for me, for all, that our lands may remain with us; that these '_piritoka_' and '_piriawaawa_,' these homeless wanderers who sneak about, sticking to rocks, and to the side of the brooks and gullies may not have it all. Sit, Governor, sit for me, for us. Remain here a father for us. These chiefs say, 'Don't sit,' because they have sold all their possessions and they are filled with foreign property, and they have also no more to sell. But I say, what of that? Sit, Governor, sit. You two stay here, you and Busby--you two, and they also, the Missionaries."

In his advocacy of the Governor's cause Tamati was seconded by Matiu, a chief of the Uri-o-ngongo tribe. "O Governor! sit, stay, remain, you as one with the Missionaries, a Governor for us. Do not go back, but sit here, a Governor, a father for us, that good may increase, may become large to us. This is my word to thee. Do thou sit here, a father for us."

"No, no, go back, go back," cried Kawiti, a turbulent Ngatihine. "What dost thou want here? We native men do not wish thee to stay. We do not want to be tied up and trodden down. We are free. Let the Missionaries remain, but as for thee, return to thine own country. I will not say 'Yes' to thy sitting here. What! to be fired at in our boats and canoes by night! What! to be fired at when quickly paddling our canoes by night! I, even I, Kawiti, must not paddle this way nor paddle that way because the Governor said 'No,' because of the Governor, his soldiers, and his guns. No, no, no, go back, go back, there is no place here for a Governor."

A chief of the Ngatiamake tribe named Wai, now rose and addressed some pertinent enquiries to His Excellency.

"To thee, O Governor! this. Will you remedy the selling, the exchanging, the cheating, the lying, the stealing of the whites? O Governor! yesterday I was cursed by a white man. Is that straight? The white man gives us natives a pound for a pig, but he gives a _Pakeha_ four pounds for such a pig. Is that straight? The white man gives us a shilling for a basket of potatoes, but to a _Pakeha_ he gives four shillings for a basket like that one of ours. Is that straight? No, no, they will not listen to thee, so go back, go back. If they would listen and obey, ah yes, good that, but have they ever listened to Busby? And will they listen to thee, a stranger, a man of yesterday? Sit indeed! what for? Wilt thou make dealing straight?"