Historical Background: PDF 142KB

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HE TIROHANGA Ö KAWA KI TE TIRITI O WAITANGIIn conducting land sales, Hobson was advised that:All dealings with the aborigines for their lands must be conductedon the same principles of sincerity, justice, and goodfaith, as must govern your transactions with them for the recognitionof Her Majesty’s Sovereignty in the Islands. Nor is thisall; they must not be permitted to enter into any contracts inwhich they might be the ignorant and unintentional authors ofinjuries to themselves. You will not, for example, purchase fromthem any territory, the retention of which by them would beessential, or highly conducive, to their own comfort, safety orsubsistence. The acquisition of land by the Crown for the futuresettlement of British subjects must be confined to suchdistricts as the natives can alienate, without distress or seriousinconvenience to themselves. To secure the observance of this,- will be one of the first duties of their official protector. 85The role of the Official Protector of the Aborigines in the colonialgovernment was to safeguard Mäori interests in land negotiations. LordNormanby also outlined other measures to protect Mäori welfare, and,as one historian notes, these were ultimately aimed not at preservingtraditional Mäori society but at amalgamating Mäori with the Britishsettler community: 86There are yet other duties owing to the aborigines of New Zealand,which may be all comprised in the comprehensive expressionof promoting their civilisation, - understanding by that termwhatever relates to the religious, intellectual, and social advancementof mankind. For their religious instruction liberal provisionhas already been made by the zeal of the missionaries …and it will be at once the most important, and the most gratefulof your duties … to afford the utmost encouragement, protectionand support to their Christian teachers ... The establishmentof schools for the education of the aborigines in the elementsof literature will be another object of your solicitude;and until they can be brought within the pale of civilized life,and trained to the adoption of its habits, they must be carefullydefended in the observance of their own customs, so far as theseare compatible with the universal maxims of humanity andmorals. 87Lord Normanby advised that it remained to be considered how theprovisions of the instructions were to be brought into effect. Theinstructions, dated 14 August 1839 and some pages in length,recognised that:… we [the British Government] acknowledge New Zealand asa sovereign and independent state, so far at least as it is possible30
A GUIDE TO THE PRINCIPLES OF THE TREATY OF WAITANGI AS EXPRESSED BY THE COURTS & THE WAITANGI TRIBUNALto make that acknowledgement in favour of a people composedof numerous, dispersed and petty tribes, who possess few politicalrelations to each other, and are incompetent to act, or evento deliberate, in concert. But the admission of their rights,though inevitably qualified by this consideration, is binding onthe faith of the British Crown. The Queen, in common withHer Majesty’s immediate predecessor, disclaims, for herself andfor her subjects, every pretension to seize on the islands of NewZealand, or to govern them as a part of the dominion of GreatBritain, unless the free and intelligent consent of the natives,expressed according to their established usages, shall first beobtained. 88The Treaty signing processThere are two texts of the Treaty: a Mäori text and an English text.There is some evidence that the original English text, from which thecurrent Mäori translation was made, has in fact been lost. 89 The Mäoritext of the Treaty was signed by over 500 Mäori chiefs, including 13Mäori women. Over 40 chiefs signed the Mäori text at Waitangi on 6February 1840, 90 and similar gatherings were held elsewhere over thefollowing seven months, enabling more chiefs to sign other copies ofthe Mäori text. The signatures of 39 chiefs were appended to theEnglish text at Waikato Heads in March or April 1840 and at Manukauon 26 April 1840. 91 There are differences between the English andMäori texts of the Treaty, which are discussed in detail later.A number of prominent chiefs refused to sign the Treaty on thegrounds that their chiefly authority would be restricted and other chiefswere never reached. 92 Some non-signatories may have later supportedthe Treaty at the major hui held at Kohimarama in 1860 and Orakei in1879, 93 which perhaps may indicate the speed at which the powerrelationship between Mäori and the State changed in the decadesfollowing the signing of the Treaty. The Treaty signing processconcluded in September 1840.Assurances and explanations given to Mäoriprior to signing the TreatyDiscussions of events at the Treaty signings are necessarily speculative.<strong>Historical</strong> reports describe some common themes, however, in theway in which the texts were presented to Mäori. It seems clear thatthe differences between the texts were not always apparent indiscussions, and that for a number of reasons, debate was often cutshort or rushed. The explanations given by the Crown representativesand missionaries were intended to assuage the key misgivings felt by31
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Historical Background: PDF 142KB

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