Publicly accessible
URL: http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/collections.html
Copyright 2011, by Victoria University of Wellington
Prepared for the
All unambiguous end-of-line hyphens have been removed, and the trailing part of a word has been joined to the preceding line. Every effort has been made to preserve the Māori macron using unicode.
Some keywords in the header are a local Electronic Text Collection scheme to aid in establishing analytical groupings.
To My
Tutor and Friend
Mr. A. L. Smith, M.A.
Balliol College Oxford
To set the life of Sir George Grey in its historical setting and soberly to estimate his place in a great historical development is no easy task. It would have been simpler to present him as hero, enthusiast, humanitarian, idealist, contending single-handed against hard and unsympathetic politicians abroad and governments at home. But to many the real interest of such a life is in tracing its effects, and discovering how it works in its own sphere of influence. The endeavour made in this book to show how ideal forces operate in the field of statesmanship in building up new nations, has hardly yet been seriously undertaken. We have still to estimate the worth of the idealist in history. It may be claimed for this book that it gives a new meaning and colour to the phrase "Missionary of Empire." It is seen that the British Empire has won its way in many parts of the world because it has represented certain broad principles and methods of dealing with men; such as the recognition of the rights of personality, the subordination of government to the interests of the governed, even at the cost of momentary unpopularity, the establishment of just relations between all the citizens of a country, faith in the future, freedom from cynicism, the whole-hearted use of positions of power and influence in the interests of moral feeling, educational enthusiasm and the public good. These instincts and habits of mind have stood for more than the particular measures in which they have been incorporated.
Professor Henderson has spared no pains in the endeavour to make his book a genuine piece of historical research. He has visited New Zealand and South Africa in order to deal with documents at first hand. His book is a serious study in a successful and influential type of Colonial, or perhaps more correctly Imperial, statesmanship. The fact that Professor Henderson's work lies in Adelaide explains why an editor has been required. I have seen the book through the press at his own request.
This volume on the Life and Work of Sir George Grey is based upon a study of original documents in South Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Western Australia, and I trust that the record may prove to be authentic even though the conclusions arrived at are in many cases diametrically opposed to the views which have been expressed by other writers.
So much assistance has been rendered by means of interviews, correspondence and suggestions, that it is impossible to acknowledge the services of many kind friends except in a general way; but I desire to express my gratitude more particularly to the Rt. Hon. Alfred Lyttelton, K.C., M.P., sometime Secretary of State for the Colonies; the Hon. Sir Walter Hely - Hutchinson, G.C.M.G., Governor of Cape Colony; the Lord Plunket, K.C.V.O., Governor of New Zealand; Sir George Le Hunte, K.C.M.G., Governor of South Australia, and Sir Frederick Bedford, K.C.B., Governor of Western Australia, for the permission kindly granted me to consult official records in their possession. I am also indebted to their Excellencies for many acts of kindness which have greatly facilitated my researches in the Colonies whose affairs they severally administer.
To the Hon. Seymour Thorne-George of Auckland I am deeply indebted for the privilege of studying the valuable collections of Sir George Grey's private papers and correspondence which were entrusted to his keeping at the
During my visits to the various Colonies I have received valuable assistance directly and indirectly from the Rt. Hon. Sir Samuel Way, Bart., the Hon. Victor Nelson Hood, Mr. T. Gill, I.S.O., and Mr. Howard Davenport, of Adelaide, South Australia; the Rt. Hon. Sir John Gordon Sprigg, G.C.M.G., P.C., the Hon. Sir Lewis Michell, Kt, Mr. E. F. Kilpin, C.M.G., the Rev. J. Moffat, C.M.G., the Hon. A. Douglass, Mr. C. H. L. M. Jurisch, Mr. H. W. B. Robinson, Mr. C. H. Pennel, Mr. C. L. W. Mansergh, of Cape Colony; Mr. Burnet-Adams, Dr. J. Brill, of Bloem-fontein, Orange River Colony; Mr. L. Wroughton, of Maseru, Basutoland; the Hon. Robert Stout, K.C.M.G., of Wellington, New Zealand; Sir Frederick Stopford, late of War Office, London, and Mr. G. R. Parkin, C.M.G., LL.D., of Toronto, Canada.
It will not, I trust, be straining the uses of a preface unduly if I avail myself of this opportunity to give prominence to a practical question of much interest to students of Colonial history. In his preface to one of the editions of his book on Polynesian Mythology, Sir George Grey pointed out that there were MSS. relating to New Zealand in the South African Public Library, and others relating to South
Influence of the French Revolutionary teaching on England and on Sir George Grey—His love of nature and his enthusiasm for humanity—Continuity of his work shown by reference to his public policy—His views on the Land Question, Extension of the Franchise, and Education of the masses—His enthusiasm for Empire, and his attachment to the principle of self-government—His arguments reviewed in relation to the problem of Imperial unity—Merits and defects of Sir George Grey's native policy—His extraordinary personal influence over primitive and, aboriginal races—General observations on the work which he accomplished in South Africa and Australasia—His place among the builders of Empire in the Southern Hemisphere.
Frequently it has happened in the history of contending races that those who have been overcome in battle have succeeded in imposing their ideas on the conquerors. Over the law of natural selection operates another which is known as rational selection. The barbarians captured Rome; but Rome conquered the world a second time by means of her religious institutions, and, in the second conquest, the victorious barbarians became her willing instruments. The Turks from Central Asia overran Syria and Asia Minor; but they became the champions of Islam in the great struggle between Christianity and Mohammedanism in the Crusading era. The history of modern times affords a striking if somewhat imperfect illustration. Napoleon was overthrown at the battle of Waterloo in 1815: but from that time the ideas underlying the French Revolution at its inception began to exert a powerful influence on the minds of the English people.
Those ideas sprang from a deep-rooted conviction that the highest ideal may be reflected in the lowliest forms of life, and they fostered a belief in the essential worth and dignity of human nature. In Rousseau's fierce denunciations of the artificial restrictions and conventions of his age, he exalted the "natural man" to such a degree that his view of the social contract and its influence on the history of man was fundamentally at variance with that of Hobbes in the middle of the seventeenth century.
As in philosophy so was it in art. Jean François Millet turned away from the pageants of city life, and the display of courts, to find inspiration for his best work among the reapers and gleaners in the fields of Barbizon not far from the forest of Fontainebleau. In various ways the movement represented a return to nature, and its influence may be detected in England during every decade of the nineteenth century.
Wordsworth contemplated the excesses of the Revolutionary party with disappointment and horror, and his aversion from Napoleon was so great in 1803 as almost to destroy his belief in the wisdom and beneficence of a Divine Ruler who could tolerate the supremacy of such a man. But, his politics notwithstanding, Wordsworth preserved the feelings and convictions which made him the close companion and admirer of the incomparable Beaupuis in 1790; and his life's work may be interpreted as one long grand struggle to reveal the intrinsic worth of the most lowly forms of life in Nature and in Human Nature. Like sympathies inspired the verse of Robert Burns; and even Sir Walter Scott, with all his love of chivalry and the
Immediately associated with the idealization of Nature and the natural man, was a struggle for the realization of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. Rousseau had shown that the ultimate source of political power was the General Will; and, despite the difficulties involved in the application of such a theory, men believed in it. The idea took hold of the imagination of those who could not distinguish between the actual conduct and control of government, and it became one of the most potent influences operating in favour of democratic government during the last century.
It followed almost as a corollary that the chief end of legislation was the welfare of the governed. "Government by the people for the people" was a battle-cry on the field of English politics as early as the reign of Edward the First, but it rang out far more victoriously in the nineteenth century. The throne of a long line of kings tottered in France and fell. The English king remained the social and dignified head of the nation because the Prime Minister had supreme control over the business administration in Parliament. Everywhere the rights of property and vested interests were scanned by thinkers and teachers who proclaimed their subordination to the rights of man. Under the influence of the doctrine of utilitarianism, sweeping changes were made in English legislation, and chief among the exponents of the new order was Jeremy Bentham, whose views on utility were summed up in the well-known phrase, "the greatest happiness of the greatest number."
Grey was a child of the nineteenth century renaissance. And nothing impresses the student of his career more than his unbounded faith in the possibilities of human nature, his deep and lasting sympathy for the masses of the people, and his splendid devotion to the welfare of the native races in the Southern Hemisphere. He, too, was caught up in the Romantic Revival which idealized the commonplace in nature; and in the depths of primeval forests, trodden only by himself and aboriginal tribes, he experienced an exaltation of spirit that relieved the pains and hardships of travel. The greatness and the grandeur of the world impressed him, and he was grieved to find so much wretchedness and misery among his fellow-creatures. But therein lay his opportunity. In his own way he struggled earnestly for the approximate realization of liberty, equality, and fraternity among men of various races and degrees of civilization, and his steadfastness of purpose was altogether admirable.
Yet, curiously enough, no charge is more frequently made against him than that of inconsistency. Men who knew him in the early days are inclined to believe that the autocratic servant of the Colonial Office became the Leader of the People in 1876 because he loved and would have power. The mistake arises in the majority of cases from the inability of his critics to understand that a man whose temperament was essentially autocratic might be dominated by convictions extremely radical. Sir George Grey did love power; but a critical examination of his public policy proves beyond doubt that the founder of the Radical party in New Zealand was true to himself. Closer settlement, one man one vote, education of the masses: these were the principal
In 1837 he left Ireland with a deep-rooted conviction that the alienation of the people from the land was a grievous blunder, and it was by enforcing a policy of closer settlement in South Australia that the Colony was retrieved from financial embarrassment in 1843. "There as elsewhere," he said, "I endeavoured to carry out what I regarded as a cardinal principle in the making of a new country: to create capital direct from the natural products of the soil; not by raising too heavy loans." From South Australia he went to New Zealand. During his first administration there he was continually at war with the great landowners; and he tried measure after measure to induce small farmers to settle on the land. In South Africa he went so far as to set aside the most explicit instructions from the Colonial Office in order to bring immigrants from Europe, and settle them along the border belts of British possessions. It is clear, therefore, that "the bursting up of big estates" was only the last stage in the evolution of Sir George Grey's ideas on the land question; and it was ultimately effected in New Zealand by the Compulsory Purchase Bill which was passed during the administration of Mr. Seddon.
The same tenacity of purpose was exhibited in his determination to extend the franchise. He attributed the lack of ambition and want of initiative among the Irish
Not less striking was the continuity of his interest in the education of the masses. He believed in closer settlement as a means of developing the resources of the country, he believed in education as a means of developing the resources of the people. Always and everywhere he gave enthusiastic support to those who were striving to uplift the various classes of the community spiritually and intellectually. He was the friend and ally of the missionaries; churchmen of every denomination sought his advice, and received financial assistance from his government. He was the founder of Grey College, Bloemfontein, in the Orange Free State; and he gave liberally of his private means towards the foundation of schools and colleges in New Zealand and South Africa. He died a poor man because
Sir George Grey never formulated any definite scheme for the solution of the problem of Imperial Federation; but he had a growing enthusiasm for the British Empire, and lost no opportunity to maintain and extend it. While in New Zealand he endeavoured without success to induce the Imperial authorities to annex some of the islands of the Pacific; and in South Africa he prepared a scheme for the extension of British influence beyond the Kei River, which was rejected for the time, but adopted almost immediately after his departure for New Zealand. He deplored the abandonment of the Orange River Colony in 1853, and was recalled for trying to recover it, by the institution of a Federal system of government for South Africa, in defiance of instructions from the Colonial Office. One of the most daring acts in his official career was performed in defence of the Empire. On his own responsibility he diverted Imperial troops on their way to China, to India. They arrived at Calcutta in time to render valuable service at the siege of Lucknow. Like Cecil Rhodes, he was profoundly impressed with the possibilities of the Anglo-Saxon race, and he regarded the British Empire as a great and beneficent power in the world by which the influence of Christianity might be extended, and the standard of living raised throughout the world.
In the light of later developments it is interesting to reflect on Sir George Grey's enthusiasm for self-government as well as the Empire. After the war of American Independence, statesmen in various parts of the world were inclined to believe that colonies, like ripe fruit, would drop away as soon as they had reached maturity. Grey's instincts
The recognition of the principle was one thing, its application another. Sir George Grey lived at a time when Crown Colonies were aspiring to constitutional government, and readjustments had frequently to be made as the principle of self-government was extended. Conflicts arose between the local and Imperial authorities, and although he was the servant of the Colonial Office he almost invariably took the side of the Colonies. Each case must be considered on its merits; and only an advocate would seek to justify his conduct at the close of his second administration in New Zealand. But he paid the penalty, and at least deserves the credit for a long and painful struggle in defence of a principle which is no longer questioned. The problem of Imperial Federation is yet to be solved; but it is useless to propose any scheme which is not superimposed on democratic foundations.
Grey had other reasons for demanding that the Colonies should be allowed to contrive for themselves. The traditions of the Old World barred the way to reform; but he foresaw that in the new lands of the Southern Hemisphere a
The time may come when the magnitude of Sir George Grey's services will be determined by reference to the questions here mentioned. At present his title to fame would seem to rest rather on the merits of his administration of native affairs. That he achieved extraordinary success in this important branch of his work there can be no reasonable doubt; but a careful examination of the results of his policy shows that his control over the natives must be attributed to personal influence rather than to public policy. The scheme which he devised for their government during his second administration in New Zealand failed; and the settlement of the Maori difficulty at the close of the war was fundamentally different from that for which he had striven.
But the most serious defect in his policy was the rapid destruction of the authority of the native chiefs in New Zealand and South Africa before another authority, equally or approximately effective, had been substituted. And this was done against the clearest advice to the contrary from Earl Grey. The result was that as soon as his personal
In other respects Grey's policy was far-seeing and magnanimous. Education and regular industry were the means by which he hoped to raise the natives in the scale of civilization, and in all cases of conflict between them and the white races he declined to treat them otherwise than as British subjects. In times of war he followed the British practice in India of making use of the friendly natives against those who were in arms. On the battlefield he struck hard and quickly; but on the first signs of submission he treated his foes with unbounded generosity. The system which he adopted in British Kaffraria during his administration of South Africa affords the best opportunity for a study of his views on the improvement and civilization of the natives.
The record of Sir George Grey's personal influence over the natives is above criticism, and it must ever remain one of the brightest traditions in the history of the British Empire. He had all the enthusiasm of the French revolutionaries for the "natural man," and the pity which he felt for the condition of the natives made the pursuit of their happiness and welfare a perpetual delight. He moved freely amongst them; learnt their languages in order that he might understand them the better; and took infinite pains in the collection of material by which their history might be
The time has not yet come to speak with complete assurance of the merits of his work; but judging by the history of the last fifty years, and the trend of events in Australasia and South Africa to-day, it would appear that Sir George Grey is entitled to rank as the foremost among the pioneers of Empire in the British Colonies that lie to the south of the Equator. Sir Henry Parkes and Cecil Rhodes may have done more to mould the destinies of this colony or that; but Grey was the founder of far-reaching policies in South Africa, South Australia, and New Zealand, and he left the impress of his personality on them all.
In South Africa he founded a policy which was essentially the same as that pursued in later times by Sir Bartle Frere,
In view of the settled policy of Her Majesty's Government no other course was open to Sir Bulwer Lytton than to recall a governor who defied the instructions of his superior officers on matters of such grave importance; but had Sir George Grey been allowed to proceed with his scheme there would, in all probability, have been no Boer war, and South Africa would have been united under the British flag long ago. The Orange Free State had petitioned the Cape Government for admission, and circumstances would have compelled the Boers of the Transvaal to throw in their lot with the rest.
Sir George Grey's best work was done in South Africa, but his influence on Australasia has been much greater.
Shortly before his tragic death Mr. Seddon visited Adelaide, and delivered one of his most successful speeches in the Town Hall. After outlining the policy which he had pursued in New Zealand during his long tenure of office, he confessed that the credit for its initiation belonged entirely to Sir George Grey. That was magnanimous, but it was also just. Closer settlement on the land, the extension of popular influence in government, and the education of the masses are the questions on which the fortunes of political parties turn to-day in New Zealand and Australia, and they were, as we have seen, the most important measures in the radical policy which was founded in 1877. The evolution of that policy is proceeding at a rapid pace. Social politics occupy the field in Australia, and the battle between the Socialists and the Anti-Socialists has begun in earnest. The struggle will be a protracted one, and the results will only be apparent when the history of the twentieth century has been written.
Meantime one thing is clear. The Democracies of Australia and New Zealand have ceased to believe in the paramount rights of one class to rule another. Many experiments in popular government have been tried, some of them with conspicuous success; and the people are settling down to the conviction that Sir George Grey was right when, in his triumphal progress through New Zealand in 1876, he proclaimed that the ends of justice would never be attained until there was a fair field for all and favour to none. Equality is an unrealizable dream in Australia as elsewhere;
For the vision of the people has been strengthened and clarified by the illuminating power of education, which was always an essential part of Sir George Grey's scheme for the improvement of all sorts and conditions of men. There is some danger in young countries that the resources of the people may be neglected in the struggle with Nature and the race for wealth. It is singularly fortunate that, while the Southern Colonies were still in the making, they should have been entrusted to the direction of a governor who never forgot that the treasures of a lofty mind were more to be desired than material and physical comforts. "Shall we leave to our descendants the lands we have won from forests, the choice breeds of cattle we have imported from the remote ends of the globe, the houses we have built amid the agitations of war and the shocks of nature, the wealth we have accumulated—all the material and physical comforts—and not strive to hand down to them the far nobler treasures of a lofty mind, of a highly cultivated intellect, of aspirations after the great and good, which could alone prompt them to use wisely for their own and the general advantage this
Sir George Grey's enthusiasm for education is shared by his followers. The accession of the Labour Party to power is the inevitable outcome of the success of his policy. Whatever their limitations in the wider field of politics, they are a party inspired by ideals, and they have always displayed a genuine and lively interest in education. The results are already apparent. The primary system of education in Australia is better than it is in England, and the universities are coming more and more into touch with the people. Sir George Grey is the political genius of the Southern Hemisphere. With his administration of South Africa a new and brighter era might have begun in the history of that unfortunate country; but his policy never had a fair trial, and its merits have only been recognized in recent years. He has done far more than any other man directly and indirectly to mould the destinies of Australia and New Zealand, and he who would understand the trend of events in those parts of His Majesty's dominions now and for a century to come, must begin with a study of the life and work of the Great Proconsul.
Tragic circumstances of Sir George Grey's birth—Gallant conduct and death of his father at the siege of Badajoz—Aristocratic traditions of the family—George Grey's training and achievements at the Royal Military College—Service in Ireland from 1830 to 1837—His experiences among the Irish peasantry—Growing convictions respecting Home Rule and the Irish Land Question—Dissatisfaction with the political and social conditions of the Old World—Changing ambitions—Exploratory expedition to North-West Australia in 1837.
"My poor father fell on the night of the assault, and I was born on the 14th. My birth was hurried on, by his death, at Lisbon, where my dear mother would reside in order to be near her husband to nurse him if he were wounded." In such sorrow did Sir George Grey enter this life. It was in the year 1812, when Napoleon, like a storm-cloud, was careering over the face of Europe, launching thunderbolts in divers directions, and ready to discharge his hail and fireballs upon England if only the winds of fortune might carry him thither.
It was a time of acute anxiety for Europe, and the Duke of Wellington had been cautiously but vigorously conducting a campaign against the French in the vicinity of Lisbon. No sooner had the enemy retired from the depopulated country, immediately beyond the "Lines of Torres Vedras," than he struck two heavy blows at Fuentes d'Onoro and Albuera. His attempt to follow them up
In the spring of 1812 several assaults were made, and in one of them the unfortunate event transpired which hastened the birth of Mrs. Grey's son. On the night of April 6, Lieutenant-Colonel Grey led the storming party up to the walls of the town, and a sharp contest ensued in which the leader lost his life. In his dispatch Lord Wellington informed the Imperial authorities that six officers and one hundred and thirty-two men had been killed, and he specially mentioned Lieutenant-Colonel Grey, of the 30th Regiment of Foot, "for his gallant conduct during the assault." It was not the first occasion on which Colonel Grey had won the admiration of his superior officers for "gallant conduct," for he had already proved his valour by leading his regiment in the great bayonet charge at Alexandria, against the revolutionary troops of France.
The spirit of the father descended upon the son. Sir George Grey was absolutely without fear. It has been asserted that a commission was conferred on the infant in recognition of the gallant services rendered by his father; but no trace of such a commission was found among the records in the War Office.
Lieutenant-Colonel Grey belonged to a family of bankers in London who could boast of high and honourable traditions. Toward the close of the twelfth century Henry de Grey received from Richard I the manor of Turroc in Essex, and King John conferred on him the privilege of hunting the fox and hare in any lands belonging to the Crown except the king's own demesnes. From Henry de
Few of those who listened to the stirring addresses of the great Radical Chief in New Zealand and Australia dreamed that he was so closely associated with the aristocracy of England; hardly any of them knew that by temper and conviction he was a true representative of the Greys of Groby. During the great civil war in England Earl Stamford and his son, Lord Grey, were military commanders on the Parliamentary side, and Lord Grey was one of those who signed the warrant for the execution of King Charles I. Sir George Grey was not the first of his line who combined radical convictions with an aristocratic temperament. He inherited the graces of a gentleman; but the blood of the Puritans coursed through his veins.
Lieutenant-Colonel Grey's wife was the eldest daughter of the Reverend John Vignoles, of Coruaher, near Tyrrell's Pass, in the County of Westmeath, Ireland. She was chatting with the wives of some of Lord Wellington's officers on the balcony of a hotel at Lisbon when the melancholy report of her husband's death reached her ears from the street below. Unable to bear the shock she swooned away, and, soon afterwards, gave birth somewhat prematurely to her son. Five years later she married Sir John Thomas; and Sir Godfrey Vignoles Thomas, Baronet of Coruaher, is her grandson. Sir George Grey's mother was a
George Grey was sent to school at Guildford in Surrey, where the boy proved father to the man—the "dangerous man" of 1867. He became impatient of the ordinary routine which prepared youths for the traditional tests at Oxford and Cambridge, and arranged with another lad to run away. They jumped over walls, journeyed across country on foot to Bournemouth, where Grey's parents were temporarily residing. Instead of being sent back, he was allowed to take a long holiday, and pay a series of visits to distinguished relatives in Gloucestershire, the most notable among them being a distant connection who afterwards became Archbishop Whately of Dublin. They took him afield to visit the remains of British and Roman camps that abound in the district, and the lad's imagination was fired by the stories of the heroic deeds of the great empire-builders in the ancient world.
There could be no doubt which way his tastes inclined, and, acting upon advice, his mother decided to send him to the Royal Military College, to which he was admitted in 1826. The course of study extended over three years, and the result was highly satisfactory to his parents. He acquitted himself creditably in five public examinations, qualified to hold a commission in His Majesty's service, and on December 11, 1829, received a certificate In a letter to The Times, over date Grey, and, through the courtesy of Sir F. Stopford, I am in possession of information from the War Office in London which proves that the same spelling was adopted in other documents at that time both by the military authorities and by Grey himself. On Grey" was appointed ensign, vice Watson, and the appointment was gazetted in London on Grey. It is clear, therefore, that if Grey altered the spelling of his name he must have done so before he had completed his eighteenth year. But there is the strongest evidence to prove that he did not: (1) In the Art Gallery at Auckland there is a letter from the Duke of York to Mrs. Grey covering medal for her late husband "Colonel George Grey" and the letter is dated Grey" is inscribed; (3) In Lord Wellington's dispatch recording the losses of the 30th Regiment at Badajoz he writes: "I must likewise mention Lieutenant-Colonel Grey," That dispatch is dated
In the year 1830 there were popular risings in nearly every country in Europe. The wave of democratic thought which rolled over England in the nineteenth century was preceded by irregular gusts on the Continent that made the course of the old régime difficult and dangerous. The French dethroned Charles X and replaced him by Louis Philippe; the Poles were in open rebellion against the absolutism of Czar Nicholas; Italy and Germany had their own troubles; and there was open war in Belgium and Holland. It was a golden opportunity for Ireland, and Daniel O'Connell was not the man to let it pass. The Roman Catholic Emancipation Bill had been passed in 1829
There was another cause of discontent in Ireland. In the year 1800 the Irish Houses of Parliament had been induced, by very questionable methods, to vote for their own destruction, so that Pitt's scheme for uniting England and Ireland might be carried into effect. From that time Ireland was represented by thirty-two peers and one hundred commoners in the Parliament of the "United Kingdom." But the scheme proved eminently distasteful to the Irish, and while the Tithe War was being waged Daniel O'Connell was fighting for the "Repeal of the Union," which meant the same in 1830 as Home Rule means now. Daniel O'Connell was an able if a somewhat noisy party leader, and it remains to his credit that he endeavoured to attain his ends by constitutional means. But there were riots and insurrections, and it was part of Grey's duty to maintain order at political meetings.
The young soldier's political and social ideas were in the making. He listened; obeyed the instructions of his superior officers; but inwardly sympathized with the views of Daniel O'Connell. Before he left the country belief had taken hoJd of him so strongly that he yearned for some
Those ideas were associated with two great questions—self-government and the tenure of land.
In the performance of his duties he had opportunities of visiting various parts of Ireland, and of coming into contact with the native Irish. He found a peasantry reduced to the last stages of destitution. Their houses were decayed, and in these they were herded together like animals. Rarely did one family have more than one room; sometimes three and even four families lived together in the same room; their furniture was of the most meagre description, and many of them were clothed in rags. Turning over the pages of history, he found that the native Irish had been dispossessed of their lands in order that Court favourites of Elizabethan and later times might be endowed with "princely properties." These "aristocratic owners of the soil" were in some cases possessed of extensive estates in England; some of them rarely if ever visited their lands in Ireland; and they did nothing whatever to develop the resources of the country. The result was, in Grey's opinion, that the Irish peasants had fewer domestic comforts than the peasants of any other European country, including Russia; and, as he affirmed at a later time, "all they or their children could hope for was to obtain, after the keenest competition, the temporary use of a spot of land on which to exercise their industry;" for "the tenant's very improvements went to swell the accumulations of the heirs of an absentee, not of his own." The ardent young soldier did not ask whether the peasant might not have improved his
As with the land problem so with self-government. He discovered in the minds of English politicians a vicious tendency to confuse cause and effect. Given favourable opportunities for the exercise of their talents, he believed the Irish had as much capacity for legislation and administration as any other nation on the earth. It was true that in the thirties their faculties for organization were paralyzed, and many of them seemed to have lost the power of providing in any new emergency for their own wants; but this again was due to the fact that for years they had been kept in bondage, and deprived of any share in the management of their own affairs. The remedy was plain. Fitness would come by education, and the best education they could get in earthly matters would be the control of their own affairs. Therefore he would favour the establishment of a State Legislature and a State Executive in Dublin. There are those who in the contemplation of Irish affairs see only the danger of separation and the limitations of the peasants; Grey, with his overwhelming sympathy for the poor and the oppressed, saw only the tragedy of unrealized possibilities.
Meantime he was making progress in his profession. In 1833 he was raised to the rank of lieutenant. Soon afterwards he entered as a student in the Senior Department of the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, and in November 1836 was awarded a first-class certificate, recommended to the favourable notice of the Commander-in-chief, and "having not only acquitted himself with the
But his ambitions were changing. The Irish problem haunted him, and he could see no way of escape through the mass of tradition under which the countries of the Old World groaned. For a long time his soul was in labour, but at last it brought forth an idea. From the observations made by maritime explorers, it was believed that a great river entered the Indian Ocean on the north-west coast of Australia, and that extensive tracts of country adapted to the settlement of European people might be found along its course. Here was his opportunity. He submitted a scheme for the exploration of that territory which was recommended by the Royal Geographical Society, and favourably entertained by Lord Glenelg, who was then Secretary of State for the Colonies. At the close of 1837 Her Majesty's sloop of war Beagle sailed out of Plymouth Harbour, having on board the members of the Exploring Expedition with Lieutenant Grey at their head. They were bound for Hanover Bay, on the north-west coast of Australia, and the young leader's soul was aflame with generous anticipation. In imagination he saw new lands
Objects of the expedition to Hanover Bay—Discovery of the Glenelg River—Second expedition to the "North-West in 1838—Disasters at Bernier Island and Gantheaume Bay—Terrible sufferings of the party on the overland journey to Perth—Discrepancy between the accounts furnished by Lieutenant Grey and Captain Stokes of a particular locality—Explanation by Captain Grey—Substantial accuracy of Grey's account proved by Deputy Surveyor-General Gregory—Appointment as Resident at King George's Sound—Scheme for the improvement of the natives—Departure for England in 1840—Appointed Governor of South Australia.
Queen Victoria ascended the throne on June 20, 1837. It was on the fifth of the following month that Lieutenants Grey and Lushington left England for Australia. The objects of the expedition were manifold. He was to report upon the resources of the country especially with a view to colonization; to familiarize the natives with the British name and character in order to establish more securely the sovereignty of the Queen; and to render some service to science by collecting specimens that might be of special interest to the department of natural history. No work could have been better suited to his tastes and ambitions, and he was appointed to supreme command. Arrived at Simon's Bay he transhipped at once into a schooner of 140 tons, and before the end of the year the Lynher anchored in Hanover Bay with twelve men besides the ship's crew.
Grey's first impressions were decidedly unfavourable. Little vegetation was to be seen from the deck, as he gazed upon the "ruins of hills" in front of him. But after making a few short excursions inland he struck southward, Lynher, might be heard at intervals calling for some one to come and give his pony "a heave upon the starboard quarter," or when the case was more desperate, roaring out with mingled pity and alarm, "She'll go down by the stern, sir." Toward the end of January the sheep, horses, and goats began to die off at an alarming rate, partly from exposure; but also because, while feeding, they swallowed a considerable quantity of sand, which in the stomach was rolled into an indigestible ball.
There were also difficulties with the natives. While making observations on this part of the coast Captain King
Even this did not deter the natives. Led by the first they advanced hurling their spears, which came whistling past the three men. Most unfortunately at this moment one of the guns became entangled in its cover, and by the time Grey had wrenched it free the light-coloured man was within thirty yards of him. Meantime the spears were coming thick and fast; one he just evaded with a sudden jerk of his body, another fell shivering to the ground after striking the stock of his gun, a third struck him in the leg and he reeled over giddy and faint till, animated by rage and indignation, he
Then came another dramatic change. The tumult ceased, the natives slipped away silently and cautiously as Grey walked toward the prostrate body of the dying man. It seemed again as though he had been suddenly transported to a world where life and voice and motion slept, for all was as still as the grave. He turned to rejoin his companions, leaving the coloured man on the ground where he lay. Thereupon the natives "came from behind the rocks and trees without their spears, crowding round him with the greatest solicitude and tenderness." Then raising him up they bore him away through the forest, "their black forms being scarcely distinguishable from the charred trunks of the trees as they receded in the distance." Grey's wound was serious enough, and it caused him much pain during the journey along the Glenelg; but he suffered most from the reflection of a sensitive mind on the destruction of a fellow-creature even in self-defence.
Despite all difficulties and anxieties, Grey found the work of an explorer much to his liking. He was very responsive to the charms of natural scenery, and in the beauty of a sunset or the grandeur of a starlit night was able to forget the dangers to which his party was exposed, and find recreation for the mind and senses when oppressed by weariness after the long day's journey. Even more
In September 1838 he reached the Swan River after having dismissed the Lynher at Mauritius. But his instructions had only partly been carried out, and in February of 1839 he left Fremantle with the intention of exploring the coast district. At Bernier Island to the north-west of Shark Bay they disembarked and buried their stores. Thence they set sail for the mainland, and proceeded as far north as the Lyell Range, a little to the south of Cape Cuvier. The country was not inviting, and after many trying experiences in gales, and on the surf-beaten shore, they returned from the neighbourhood of the Gascoyne River to Bernier Island. A gale of wind was blowing; but the passage was successfully made, and having beached the boat Grey started out with Smith and Coles for the depot. They were astonished and somewhat alarmed as they advanced to find provision casks here and there high and dry upon the rocks. The island was low and sandy, and Grey began to suspect that the stores might have been destroyed during the heavy weather. "All lost, sir. We are all lost, sir," exclaimed Coles as they stood over the place where the provisions had been buried. Smith was not precisely of that opinion, however, and Grey retired to a distant rock, where, with the wild sea raging round him, he
After reaching the mainland they turned south and hugged the coast of Shark Bay till they reached Steep Point, where another problem presented itself. Southward for a hundred and twenty miles there was no place where in case of emergency a boat could be beached. Some of the party wished to land at once, and strike for Perth along the coast. Grey decided to go on, and for fifty-six hours they tugged wearily at the oars. By that time they were off Gantheaume Bay, and as some of the men were worn out they decided to try and effect a landing. But as they neared the shore the boat was hurried along at terrific speed till "the breaker we were on curled up in the air, lifting the boat with it, and when we had gained the summit I looked down from a great height not upon water, but upon a bare sharp black rock. For one second the boat hung upon the top of the wave, in the next I felt the sensation of falling rapidly; then a tremendous shock and crash which jerked me away among the rocks and breakers, and for the few following seconds I heard nothing but the din of waves, whilst I was rolling about amongst men and a torn boat and water-kegs in such a manner that I could not collect my senses."
There was no option left them now but to make their
Their sufferings became acute when on April 14 they reached the Hill River. The weather was warm and they had been without water since morning. Night passed and another day, but still no water! The following morning there was a light dew on the bushes, and they tried to relieve their thirst by sucking it; but it was altogether inadequate, and soon disappeared. The men were now so weak that every few hundred yards they sat down, and begged Grey to wait. By two o'clock they had only advanced eight miles, and then they lay down upon the earth groaning with pain. Grey tottered away in search of water accompanied by Kyber, but they returned
They had not staggered along very far before they detected native footprints in the sand. Hope sprang to their breasts at once, and Kyber, with his instincts to guide him, was already moving in the direction of a bed of reeds. Thence he made a sign to Grey, who came up and found him with his head buried in the mud. It was not long before the others joined them, and falling prostrate they buried their faces too. "Thank God!" they murmured in the intervals of swallowing a few mouthfuls of the liquid mud; and they protested "that it was the most delicious water, and had a peculiar flavour which rendered it far superior to any they had ever tasted!"
Only those who have travelled over waterless tracts under the burning rays of an Australian sun and found relief when at the point of exhaustion can realize the feelings of the men. And Grey's relief was the greater because he had also been oppressed with a sense of responsibility for the
On April 21 Grey reached the cottage in which a Mrs. Williams resided. At that time there lived in Perth a crazy Malay known to the Swan River settlers by the name of Magic. As Grey entered at the door Mrs. Williams exclaimed, "Why, Magic, what is the matter with you?" Suffering had wrought such havoc with Grey's appearance that when he saluted his friends m Perth they begged pardon and asked him who he was. Even the Governor did not recognize him, and could hardly believe that the emaciated creature before him was Captain Grey. Relief parties were sent out at once, and all the travellers reached Perth eventually, with the exception of Smith, who was buried on the sea-shore, a little to the south of the river which was called after him.
Two separate expeditions had been conducted by Lieutenant Grey in Western Australia. In the first he had explored the country in the vicinity of Hanover Bay and the Glenelg River, in the second he had explored land to a distance of 420 miles north of the Swan River of which only sixty miles immediately to the north of Perth had been
The immediate results of that, so far as settlement was concerned, were even more unsatisfactory. Of the more fertile tracts of country indicated on Lieutenant Grey's map special mention was made of a district between the Moresby Flat-topped Range, and a range of hills to the south-west; and, ere long, a scheme was afoot for the settlement of the country. Meantime, however, Captain Stokes sailed along the coast northwards, and travelled inland at some places to make observations. The reports which he furnished threw discredit on the account given by Lieutenant Grey, for in regard to this particular district the observations made by Captain Stokes were correct. Grey's mistake is easily explained, but it was most unfortunate; for the project in
Lieutenant Grey was wrong in the details of his observations; yet when Surveyor-General Gregory went north in 1849 he furnished a report which proved that, in the general estimate, his account was substantially correct. Where, then, did the mistake occur? It was explained by Grey himself after the observations of Captain Stokes had been made public. After the wreck at Gantheaume Bay, Grey had to work with a Kater's compass and a chart compiled by Captain King. He was obliged, therefore, to assume his latitude; and, as there are several peaks very much alike in the Moresby Flat-topped Ranges, he mistook Mount Fairfax for Wizard Hill. The distance between them is about twelve miles, and Grey's latitude was wrong to that extent. But if on his map Mount Fairfax be placed where Mount Wizard is marked, the descriptions of the districts which he and Captain Stokes traversed in common are almost identical.
Later discoveries show that the country over which Grey and his party travelled is very patchy, as he explained in his report; but recent events have fully justified the optimistic accounts concerning the better portions. The Midland Railway runs from Perth to Geraldton, and much of the land that is being unlocked by the Company has been found suitable for pasture and agriculture, and at a recent sale in Perth brought from 25s. to £2 10s. per acre.
After Grey's return from the second expedition Governor Hutt, who had succeeded Governor Stirling, wrote to the
Meantime Grey had been appointed Resident Magistrate at King George's Sound in succession to Captain Sir Richard Spencer, R.N. The duties of that office were associated for the most part with the administration of native affairs, and in recommending Grey for the position Governor Hutt had testified to "his thorough acquaintance with the language, manners and customs of the natives, and the respect and esteem with which, by his conduct and treatment, he had inspired them."
Captain Grey was raised to the rank of captain in June 1839, and appointed Resident at King George's Sound in August of the same year.
He pointed out that, under the system which then obtained in Australia, the natives were regarded as British
Industrially the natives were at a disadvantage: the demand for their labour was uncertain, and they were inadequately paid. He proposed that, in the vicinity of towns, they should be regularly employed in making new roads, and repairing old lines of communication. In the country they might be employed as servants to settlers. If the Governor and the Protector of the aborigines were satisfied that the settler was doing something to educate the natives in his district, they might reward him with a grant of land or remission of fees. So, too, the native who worked with a settler for three years might be given a grant of land.
The Imperial authorities, ever anxious to safeguard the interests of the native races of the Empire, were impressed by the genuine interest which Grey manifested in their
Attacks on parties of Overlanders by the native tribes on the banks of the Murray River—Organization of relief parties in Adelaide—Captain Grey's instructions to Major O'Halloran—Reversal of the policy of Colonel Gawler—Battle of the Rufus River—Results of the inquiry in Adelaide—Captain Grey's schemes for the civilization of the natives— Regular work for adults—Boarding-schools for children—General observations on Captain Grey's native policy in South Australia.
Captain Grey's self-mastery, resourcefulness, and studious interest in the natives attracted the attention of the Imperial authorities, and when the necessity arose for the adoption and maintenance of a policy of rigorous retrenchment in South Australia he was sent to supersede Governor Gawler, under whose administration the Colony had become involved in financial embarrassment. Captain Grey arrived in Adelaide in May 1840, and was confronted with a native as well as a financial problem. In both cases he swiftly determined to reverse the policy of his predecessor, and in doing so was only carrying out the instructions of the Imperial Office. Governor Gawler was an affable, kindly man who had a genuine interest in the natives; and several incidents during his administration show that he was resolved to uphold their claims to consideration in case of aggression. But in his dealings with the Milmenrura or Big Murray tribe who had murdered the crew and passengers of the wrecked Maria he applied the
On Grey's arrival there was trouble at some distance up the Murray River near the border of the Colony. Mr. Inman, an overlander, was attacked, some of his sheep were stolen, and although he was assisted by a relief party from Adelaide he was unable to recover them. It was well known that Mr. Langhorne was following on the track of Mr. Inman, and fears were entertained for his safety now that the natives were emboldened by success. On the understanding that the greater part of the expense should be defrayed by those who were financially or personally interested in the
But it was to be a police not a military force. Contrasting his own point of view with that of Colonel Gawler, he avowed his determination to treat the aborigines as "subjects of the Queen within Her Majesty's allegiance." Not only were all prisoners to be brought back to Adelaide for trial, but a protector of the aborigines was to accompany the expedition, and he was to do his utmost to convince the natives that he was their friend, willing and anxious to obtain redress for their grievances.
On June 22 the party fell in with Mr. Langhorne, who informed them that the natives had already made an attack upon him at the "Hornet's Nest," carrying off some of the cattle and killing four of his men, among whom was Mr. Martin, whose body was afterwards found shockingly mutilated. When news of this reached Adelaide the excitement became intense, because a third party of overlanders under the leadership of Mr. Robinson were making their way along the Murray toward the South Australian border. Representations were made to the Governor asking him to take summary vengeance on the natives before any further atrocities were committed. But Grey was not the man to be moved by the clamour of a few excited people; and his reply does him credit: "I can never sanction any mode of punishment," he said, "which may involve alike innocent and guilty men, women, and children in its consequences." His original instructions were adhered to, but it was ultimately found impossible to avoid a battle. In the vicinity of the Rufus River the relief party joined forces with Mr.
Major O'Halloran had been forbidden by his instructions to use firearms or other weapons except in self-defence, and then only to the extent that was absolutely necessary. When the news reached Adelaide the Governor determined to hold an inquiry "in order to create a conviction in the public mind of an impartial and scrupulous administration of justice in all cases of this nature." Captain Sturt, the great explorer and friend of the natives, was appointed president. In addition to the Europeans two aboriginals—Panki Panki and Pulkanka—were examined. There was some difference of opinion concerning the "threatening manner" in which the natives approached, and one witness denied that the order to cease firing was promptly obeyed. But it was unanimously decided that in making an attack the Europeans had not violated the terms of their instructions, and they were even commended for their forbearance.
In consenting to organize a relief expedition the Governor had hinted that the overlanders were inclined to undertake
In his arguments before the Legislative Council Colonel Gawler referred to the "ferocious aggression" of the Murray tribes as a further justification for his instructions to Major O'Halloran; and the opinion still prevails in South Australia that they were distinguished from other tribes by this characteristic. The evidence of the most reliable authorities goes to show that this opinion is erroneous. Captain Sturt became well acquainted with them during his expedition down the Murray in 1830, and, when the relief party was organized, he begged the Governor to appoint him leader, so that there might not be any unnecessary violence. His request was not granted because his eyesight was already failing, and the Governor had need
If any further refutation were required it might be found in the evidence adduced at the inquiry in Adelaide, from which it became clear that the overlanders were attacked, not because the tribes were ferociously aggressive, or that they thirsted for revenge; but simply because "the temptation of having food within reach, and with little trouble, was too great for them to bear."
Captain Grey's dealings with the natives were characterized by firmness strongly tempered with kindness; and whatever judgment may be passed on the intrinsic merits of his native policy as compared with that of Colonel Gawler, he was justified by complete success. The depredations ceased, and the natives were reconciled. In transmitting Eyre's report to the Secretary of State at the beginning of 1844 he was able to point out that "our relations with the tribes inhabiting the banks of the Murray and Darling are now of the most amicable and satisfactory character."
His main object, however, was to familiarize the natives with the practices of civilized peoples by inducing the adults to take some share in regular industry. In 1843 fourteen
But the Governor's hopes for the civilization of the natives were centred in the children. "The whole of my experience in Australia," he wrote, "has led me to conclude that no means are more likely ultimately to bring about the civilization of the aborigines than bestowing a useful education on the children, and having them carefully brought up in quiet and respectable European families." So he established boarding-schools at Walkerville and Encounter Bay, and intended to have another at Port Lincoln. Here the piccaninnies were instructed in the three Rs, in sewing, and in tilling the ground. The Governor and his lady visited them, and their little dusky friends wrote letters about their achievements which were not only eagerly read, but also preserved by the great man whose heart was in his work among them. In the country, settlers were rewarded by the remission of a portion of the purchase money for their land provided they could furnish evidence of having rendered regular assistance to the natives.
The Governor was zealously supported by the colonists in his efforts to improve the aboriginals. Four German missionaries and a number of Methodist ladies were specially
Yet it was not all failure. The natives have now practically disappeared from the settled districts of South
Colonel Gawler's emergency expenditure—Financial embarrassment—Captain Grey's reforms—Introduction of financial system, rigorous retrenchment, increased taxation —Grey's determination to drive the people from the town into the country—Sufferings of the colonists in 1842—Low-water mark—Turn of the tide in 1843—Triumph of Captain Grey's policy of closer settlement—Statistical table showing progress from 1840 to 1846—Causes by which the recovery of South Australia was effected—Imperial and local recognition of the value of Captain Grey's services.
Captain Grey was sent to South Australia mainly to retrieve the financial embarrassment in which the Colony had become involved by the expenditure of Colonel Gawler. With a revenue amounting to £30,000, and an additional allowance of £12,000, he had spent during the two years and seven months of his administration £320,000, and according to the most authentic records a sum of no less than £174,092 16s. 1½d. for his last year ending April 1841. By Act of Parliament the Commissioners, who originally undertook the settlement of the province, were empowered to borrow £200,000. When this was exhausted they applied to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for written recommendation to the Manager of the Bank of England to borrow £120,000 more; but the Chancellor declined, and the bank, dissatisfied with the security offered, refused to issue the loan. Thereupon Governor Gawler began to draw on the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, but
Captain Grey was sent out with the strictest instructions to make reductions on the spot, and to be scrupulously careful not to incur any "emergency" expenditure except under the most imperious necessity. At the same time it was hinted that, if in these respects instructions were faithfully complied with, the British Government would render substantial assistance by voting a sum of money in payment of the debts already incurred.
It would be unjust to pass over Governor Gawler's administration with a mere reference to figures which cry out so loudly against him. In point of fact his policy was not without some justification. He contended that a young colony needed an outfit: there were lands to be surveyed; bridges to be constructed; roads to be made; buildings to be erected; teams to be purchased; natives to be cared for and civilized. To attempt all this and meet the necessary expenses of administration with £12,000 in addition to the revenue derived from spirits and tobacco, was impossible. And it is only just to emphasize the fact that up to the time of his recall the Commissioners had written but little to discourage him in the prosecution of his ambitious schemes. Moreover it is clear from a perusal of the report of the Select Committee of Inquiry in 1839 that the Imperial authorities had made a mistake in allowing the proceeds of land sales in the Colony to be devoted exclusively to the immigration of labourers. That committee recommended that a portion should henceforth be used to defray such expenses as were more closely associated with
But when all allowance has been made the conclusion is inevitable that Colonel Gawler's finance was a failure; and if the instructions from the Commissioners were indecisive, he drew bills on the Lords of the Treasury to pay outstanding accounts in defiance of explicit instructions from the Colonial Secretary. Moreover, the history of Captain Grey's administration shows clearly enough that Governor Gawler's extravagant expenditure was fostering a pernicious system of speculation in town land, which was undermining those habits of steady industry which constitute the best guarantee for the future welfare of any country. In the middle of 1843, when the crisis was past, Captain Grey addressed his Council in words which suggest a point of view very different from that which may be used in justification of Colonel Gawler. "I am convinced," he said, "that the government of a young community cannot exercise too cautiously a circumspection against being led into an unnecessary expenditure. I believe that the evil effects of such an expenditure both upon the prosperity and morality of a country are generally very much underrated." It was well for South Australia that in the most critical period of her
His first duty was to establish some financial system. Whatever may be said in defence of Colonel Gawler's enterprise, nothing can be urged in extenuation of his financial methods. The power of approving accounts was delegated to the Colonial Secretary, Assistant Commissioner, and Suveyor-General, separately. When the Colony became bankrupt Captain Frome found himself personally liable for £1,271! The Imperial authorities relieved him, but pointed out that such proceedings were irregular. And they certainly tended to confusion; for each officer was acting without reference to any premeditated plan; no estimate for the appropriation of funds was prepared or passed for their guidance. At the first meeting of the Council after his arrival Captain Grey informed the members that they shared responsibility for the financial condition of the country. This appears to have taken them by surprise. They thanked him, but pointed out that no responsibility had hitherto been entrusted to them, and notwithstanding the protests of Colonel Gawler, who was still at Holdfast Bay, they declined to withdraw the statement. In the beginning of 1842 Grey was able to inform the Colonial Secretary that, in future, estimates would be published between June and August, showing the expenditure for each succeeding year; and public criticism through the daily press was encouraged.
Meantime the Governor had been busy reducing the expenditure for different branches of the administration. The Colonial Stores department was abolished on the grounds £400 a year was suspended, and this needed no justification, for there was no Registration Act. A saving of £500 was effected in the Post Office department, and the expenses incurred for the management of the gaol were reduced by £800. The duties of several offices were united, and the signal-master's department was abolished. The Government House expenditure was reduced with the rest; and at last, after several charges had been transferred to the land fund, the expenditure was reduced to £28,000. In making these reductions Captain Grey admitted that the heads of departments had more to do than hitherto, but denied that the efficiency of the government had been unduly impaired.
Retrenchment in the government departments was accompanied by increase in taxation. Hitherto the revenue had been derived mainly, and almost exclusively, from duties on the importation of wines, spirits, and tobacco. In 1842 other duties were imposed amounting to ten per cent, of their value on tea, sugar, coffee, flour, wheat, rice, porter, ale, cider, perry, and "all other goods, wares, and merchandise not being the produce of manufactures of the United Kingdom." By raising charges he tried to make several departments self-supporting. The fees charged on land grants nearly paid the expenses of the department from which they were issued; and, when a Registration Act was passed, the profits derived from the registration of deeds, wills, and judgments were sufficient to maintain the department. Further he did not dare to go, lest
Had the revenue remained as it was in 1840 this would probably have been sufficient to enable him to comply with his instructions, but that was not to be expected, for the boom had passed, and Grey arrived just in time for the reaction. Under the stress of failure the demand for luxuries, and especially of spirits, rapidly diminished. Eminently desirable as this was from an ethical point of view, the immediate effects on a revenue derived mainly from spirits and tobacco were embarrassing. In 1840 there were seventy public-houses in Adelaide and the suburbs of Port Adelaide and Albert Town; in 1842 there were only forty-four! Again, although many burdens were henceforth to be borne by the proceeds of land sales, capital was "shy," for men did not care to invest their money in a colony that had failed financially, and might in a short time be abandoned. To make matters worse the assistance promised by the Imperial Government was delayed by the intervention of a parliamentary election in England. Grey had absolute faith in the resources of the soil, but time and labour were necessary before they could be transformed into actual capital.
Meantime there was a crisis, and money was absolutely necessary to meet immediate obligations. If only the outstanding debts in the Colony could be paid settlers would be able to employ men on productive works which would eventually create wealth enough not only to save the Colony from ruin, but also to lay the foundations of solid prosperity in the future. By the exercise of an extraordinary amount of endurance on the part of the Governor, £1,800 from the Commissariat Chest in Adelaide, and £3,000 from the Governor of New South Wales; but these sums were hopelessly inadequate, and the prospects of the Colony became more and more gloomy.
In clause 13 of the "Regulations for the Selection of Emigrant Labourers" it was set down that "on the arrival of immigrants in the Colony they will be received by an officer who will supply them with their immediate wants— and at all times give them employment on the Government Works if from any cause they should be unable to obtain it elsewhere." When Grey arrived in May 1841, there were 358 persons maintained by the Government. Because of his retrenchments and the falling off in trade the number rapidly increased, till on November 10 of the same year one-twelfth of the population, amounting to 2,427 persons, were dependent upon the Government for food, and the cost to the British taxpayer amounted to £25,000 a year. The Governor was well aware that the Imperial authorities would not endure this for long; and he saw clearly enough that if the finances of the Colony were to be restored the unemployed problem must be wrestled with and overcome. He was only twenty-nine years of age at the time he undertook the administration of South Australia, yet his grasp of the situation, his adoption of a far-seeing policy, and the endurance which he displayed in carrying it through would, even in the absence of other testimony,
Shortly after his arrival he informed the Colonial Secretary that the chief business of the people consisted in the transfer of land near the city, and this was true. In order to induce men to emigrate the original founders had pointed to other Colonies to show how the price of land in big towns had gone up. It was not stated as clearly as it should have been that this was dependent upon the patient development of the pastoral and agricultural industries in outlying districts. In Adelaide nearly all the citizens were infected with the fever of land speculation, and town blocks were bought and sold at "mania prices." The population concentrated there, till in 1840 there were 8,489 people in the municipality of Adelaide and not more than 14,610 in the whole province. The labouring immigrants were infected with the same feverish desire to become suddenly rich, and making the fullest use of the relief clause in the Regulations, contrived in various ways to remain in the city, where they bought town lots by paying instalments from savings out of their allowances.
Throughout his life Grey showed a decided aversion to the land speculator; but not less marked was his desire to establish the small farmers on the land. He now determined to put an end to this speculation by driving the people out of the city into the country in order to develop the resources of the soil.
An Emigration Board was appointed, and an inquiry instituted into the condition of those receiving relief. Many abuses were exposed. One individual in receipt of relief was
On his arrival in the Colony men on relief works were paid 1s. 6d. a day in addition to a liberal ration for themselves and an extra allowance in proportion to the number of their families. He decided for the future that no relief should be given to any man who could get work elsewhere, and for the rest another scale of payment was substituted: a single man was to receive 1s. 2d. a day and no rations: a married man 12s. a week, and 2s. 6d. extra for each child. At once there was a great outcry. The labour papers became most violent in their denunciations of the Governor; he was burnt in effigy in the streets, and petitions for his recall were signed and circulated. Many of them contended that because of the relief clause in the Regulations they should be allowed to receive Government support even when they had declined to accept 3s. or even 5s. a day elsewhere. Feeling ran so high that several hundreds marched to Government House, and threatened the Governor with violence. He betrayed no sign of fear, but simply answered, "I am bound not to allow British subjects to starve; but I am also bound not to draw upon the British Treasury for funds to support any individual from starving so long as he can procure the means of subsistence elsewhere."
The labourers' demands were unreasonable, and there were, no doubt, abuses; but there was genuine misery too. Reference to the Regulations under which they were brought out was not wholly unwarranted. It was stipulated that they were to be employed at "reduced wages" on relief works, and they could hardly have anticipated so great a reduction as Grey effected. Many of them who had been struggling to pay for their town lots by instalments were now forced to abandon them and lose the amounts which they had already paid. Many would have been glad to go to the country, but in 1841 there were only 6,722 acres under cultivation, and that did not absorb a tithe of those who were living on reduced pay. Harvesting brought temporary relief, but in 1842 the misery revived, and in June of that year the Register which had maintained an optimistic tone up to that time, declared in an editorial, "We have so often preached patience that we do not intend to inflict another discourse on a virtue now nearly exhausted." Soon afterwards there was a change of editors, and the paper fell into line with others which filled their columns with virulent and altogether unreasonable attacks on the Governor. But they made no impression upon him for the simple reason that he made it a rule never to read any paper, because, as he explained at a later time, the irritation caused by doing so would probably have impaired his usefulness as a public servant; and in that he was certainly right.
It was well that he did not, for troubles came thick and fast upon him in other ways. He was in a most unenviable position. While the labourers were denouncing him for reducing their allowances, the Colonial Secretary was
It is necessary to consider certain matters that are liable to misrepresentation. The recovery of South Australia is generally attributed to the discovery of copper at the Kapunda and Burra Burra Mines. That is a mistake, and it is unfair to
But it was based upon reports furnished by the Governor, and it may therefore be necessary to refer to statistics in order to substantiate it. If by "complete success" it was meant that revenue and expenditure were equalized then the phrase is too strong. But before Captain Grey's arrival £12,000 a year had been regularly granted for emergencies, and although he was not encouraged to rely upon that amount over and above his revenue, it was not expected that he would pull through without some additional help till the results of his policy were apparent. How far that policy was successful may be judged by any one who cares to examine the following table of statistics compiled from the most authentic documents by the Colonial Secretary, Mr. A. M. Mundy, two years after Captain Grey had left the colony:—
This table constitutes one of the most important records in the early history of South Australia, and it affords convincing evidence of the success of Captain Grey's policy at a time when the fortunes of the province hung trembling in the balance, when a mistake would have turned the scale decisively in favour of its abandonment.
The most vital of the statistics are those indicating the number of acres under cultivation and the amount of Government expenditure in each year. They show at a glance the effects of the positive as well as the negative aspects of the Governor's work; his determination to create capital by developing the resources of the soil, and his equally strong determination to reduce the expenses of government by which the Colony had become involved in bankruptcy.
It will be seen by reference to the figures in these columns that at the close of 1840, the year before his arrival, there were 2,503 acres of land under cultivation, while in 1843 there were 28,960. In 1840 the amount of Government expenditure was £169,966 19s. 5d., and in 1843 it was reduced to £29,842 16s. 6d. These figures go far to explain the beneficial results indicated throughout the table: the increase in the production of food, and diminution in the consumption of liquor; the rapid increase in the number of manufactories, and the rise in the value of exports from £15,650 to £66,160 17s. 2d.
They also account for a change in the distribution of population, which always has been and still is a matter of vital importance to Australia, where more than one-third of the population in each of the five states on the mainland is
But it was even more acute during Captain Grey's administration. In 1840 there were 14,610 people in the province of South Australia, and of these 8,439 were in Adelaide and 6,121 in the country! In 1843 the population amounted to 17,366, but there were 11,259 in the country and only 6,107 in the capital. The policy by which Captain Grey effected so desirable a change has already been described, and it is substantially the same as that for which progressive statesmen in Australia are battling to-day.
Thus in his first administration Grey brought to the test one of the convictions which was borne in upon him during his years of service in Ireland. There was no hesitation in the application of his views; he saw the end clearly, and worked steadily toward it. "My great object from the beginning," he declared, "was to give the labourers no inducement to remain in town, or upon public works; but to make them regard the obtaining a situation with a settler as a most desirable event." The results were eminently satisfactory. Speculation was checked, steady industry was fostered, the Colony was retrieved from financial embarrassment, and from that time the growth of wheat became one of the most important industries in South Australia. Grey was destined
The conviction sank deeper because of the suffering involved. His retrenchments in the Government service were exceedingly unpopular; the reductions of wages and allowances in the town were made the occasions of bitter complaints against him, and he was blamed for the miseries that invariably accompany the arrest and correction of wasteful expenditure. Storms raged round him on all sides and the rough winds blew from all quarters; but he kept bravely on his course, making no outward sign, but suffering inwardly. Only when he had reached the haven did the young pilot venture to give utterance to his grief. Addressing the members of his Council in 1843 he said: "I can conscientiously declare that I have during the last two years been engaged in a constant warfare against expenditure, and that I have undergone on this account a degree of labour and anxiety which I would very unwillingly again encounter." How great this anxiety was may be judged to some extent from what has already been said about the threats of the labourers on the one hand, and the strictures of the Colonial Secretary on the other. Had he not carefully refrained from reading the newspapers his anxiety would have been greatly increased, for he was very sensitive to criticism. In August 1842, The Register declared that his recall would be hailed with joy by a united people; and the labour organ, after asserting that George Grey was an exceedingly troublesome
But it would be a mistake to regard such utterances as a faithful record of public opinion even in the dreariest times. Opposition there was, and trickery too, not only among the labourers, but among those in high and responsible positions also. History is not the record of discreditable episodes, else these pages might tell of some few individuals who in the sordidness of their spirits tried to practise blackmail and fraud upon the Governor, and to frustrate his heroic attempts to administer the affairs of the Colony in the best interests of the general public. There are other reasons why they may be allowed to escape; but they richly deserve the historian's censure, in addition to the stinging remonstrances addressed to them by the Secretary of State through the Governor. Grey was too strong a man to be duped by such as they. Nor did their discreditable conduct undermine his faith in what he felt to be his greatest resource—the high moral tone of the community. "Considering the degree of excitement which prevailed, and the distress which my reductions caused, the conduct of the inhabitants of the Colony must on the whole be regarded as highly creditable to themselves." Such was his judgment when the strain was relaxed; and in the general estimate it was no stronger than justice demanded.
From the foundation of the Colony scrupulous care had been exercised to avoid the taint of convictism or depravity. "No person or persons convicted in any court of justice in England in the Eighteenth Century Mr. Lecky says that "the true greatness and welfare of nations depend mainly on the amount of moral force that is generated within them." The history of South Australia from 1841-45 an illustration of the fact. It did appear in 1840 as though the mania for speculation would undermine the habits of steady industry that need the exercise of moral qualities to sustain them. But the rigorous discipline of misfortune brought out the powers that were latent in the people, and they rose to the occasion in a manner that left a lasting impression on the mind of the Governor. Half-a-century later, in 1894, Sir George Grey affirmed that "the calibre of the early settlers in South Australia gave me trust in the new Anglo-Saxondom in the Southern Hemisphere.... There was a worth, a sincerity, a true ring about them, which could not fail of great things." There can be no doubt that the most
And next in order of importance must be placed the resources of the soil. It was hardly to be expected at a time when there was so much suffering, that justice would be done in the reports transmitted to English newspapers and periodicals; but some of the remarks serve to show how even at this early time Australia suffered from the gross misrepresentations of her detractors. One individual writing to The Times declared that the soil was as hard as bricks and no plough could penetrate it. Another standing on Mount Lofty and looking over the Adelaide plains found some satisfaction in the reflection that his eye had traversed the most barren tract in the world! At the agricultural conference in the beginning of 1842 the experienced farmers spoke in a very different strain. They found that the soil was admirably adapted for the growth of wheat; that the second crop was greater than the first, and that the land was so lightly timbered that the plough could be put into it with hardly any initial expense. Their optimism was justified by results. Grey's economies brought down the price of farm labour from £1 to 15s. a week, and the cost of fencing from 7s. to 4s. per rod. That left a margin of profit which enabled the farmers to extend their operations in the way indicated by the statistical table.
But when full allowance is made for great social and natural advantages, much credit remains to the Governor who had the ability to discern what was the right policy, and the strength of mind to carry it through in the face of so much unreasonable opposition. Long before his term of
One of the few occasions was a dinner given to Edward John Eyre. Captain Sturt was there also. In one of the speeches during the evening it was pointed out that Grey, Eyre, and Sturt had explored a continuous line of country from the Glenelg River down the coast of Western Australia, along the shores of the Great Bight, up the Darling River into the centre of Australia.
Even more satisfactory was the high appreciation of his services expressed by the Imperial authorities. Grey had not escaped censure for his excessive indulgence to the labourers, and it is quite true that some of his bills to the amount of.£14,000 were dishonoured. But those who make use of this fact in criticism of his administration are, no doubt, entirely ignorant of the attendant circumstances. They were, to begin with, drawn on the British Treasury in order to pay outstanding debts incurred not by himself but £155,000 to meet the debts of South Australia. Grey thought that the outstanding debts would be included in this amount. But he was mistaken. The House of Commons declined to pay those bills which Colonel Gawler had drawn on the Lords Commissioners after he had received explicit instructions to the contrary.
It was unfortunate, and Grey was annoyed; but the Imperial authorities did not regard his act in the light of those critics who are aware only of the bald fact; and Lord Stanley while administering his mild rebuke was careful to add that "the tenor of your administration has been such as to leave unimpaired the confidence of the Government in the prudence and discretion of your measures." Lord John Russell was Colonial Secretary at the time of Grey's appointment to South Australia, and he was present in the British Parliament when some objection was taken to his appointment to New Zealand on account of his youth. After listening to the debate for some time Lord John Russell rose to reply, and in the course of his speech paid the highest tribute to Grey's capacity for public service: "In giving him the government of South Australia I gave him as difficult a problem in Colonial Government as could be committed to any man, and I must say after four or five years' experience of his administration there, that he has solved the problem with a degree of energy and success which I could hardly have expected from any man." One statue to Sir George Grey was erected in Capetown during
Captain Grey's assumption of the government of New Zealand during a Maori war —Causes of the war at the Bay of Islands against Heke and Kawiti—Conference between the Governor and the Maori chiefs—Rejection of the Governor's ultimatum and renewal of hostilities—Capture of the rebel pah Ruapekapeka—Successful termination of the war in the north—Outbreak of hostilities in the south near Wellington—Attacks on Rangihaeta—The Governor's strategy—Seizure and capture of Rauparaha at Porirua— Another outbreak near the Wanganui River—Treaty of Wanganui and close of the war in 1848—Examination of the charges made against Grey in his conduct of the war—The seizure of Rauparaha justified—The execution of "Martin Luther" condemned.
Captain Grey had been watching the course of events in New Zealand with much interest when news arrived of a disaster at Ohaewai. It so chanced that Captain Hay-was staying with him at the time, having called at Adelaide on his way to Sydney. Realizing the gravity of the situation in New Zealand the Governor took nearly all the money out of the Treasury, collected all the arms and ammunition in the stores, and placed them on board the vessel under the command of Captain Hay, whom he induced to proceed forthwith to Auckland. A few days after he had set sail the Elphinstone, a frigate of the East India Company's Navy, arrived, and Captain Grey "to his great surprise" received orders to proceed at once to New Zealand, and assume the government of the country.
He reached Auckland in November 1845, shortly after the arrival of the money and supplies under Captain Hay, who may or may not have marvelled how bread cast upon the waters does sometimes return after a few days!
On November 18, 1845, Grey assumed the responsibilities of office under the title of Lieutenant-Governor, and proceeded without delay to the Bay of Islands, round which hostilities had been carried on.
War had broken out originally because of an interference with trade. Captain Hobson had levied a duty which fell chiefly on American goods, and the result was a rise in the price of tobacco. This irritated the natives, and, during the administration of Governor Fitzroy, feeling became more and more intense. One day in the early part of 1845 a mischievous American told them that the flag at Kororareka was the cause of all the trouble, and Heke, unable like the rest of the natives to understand the influence of indirect taxation, resolved to cut the flagstaff down. Governor Fitzroy went north and attended a conference with some of the chiefs at Waimate. He undertook to withdraw the customs duties, and Walker Nene, the faithful ally of the English Government, promised to maintain peace. Trade soon revived, and the flagstaff, which of course had nothing to do with the point at issue, was again set up. But the natives had associated it with their deprivation, and once more Heke cut it down. The Governor thereupon offered £100 for his capture, to which he replied by offering a similar sum for the capture of the Governor. The flagstaff was erected for the third time, and on this occasion was sheathed in iron. But iron was
War broke out, and, during its progress, another dispute arose about the alienation of native lands. On this question the Maoris were very sensitive, and some of the chiefs had refused to sign the Treaty of Waitangi, although the full exercise and undisturbed possession of the lands and estates, forests, fisheries, and other properties which they might collectively or individually possess were guaranteed to them. Some were afraid that it was only an indirect attempt to deprive them of what ultimately was the real source of their subsistence. "It is from food that a man's blood is formed, and it is land which grows his food and sustains him. Never part with your land." So ran the Maori proverb; and it was on the understanding that they had not done so that a majority of the chiefs accepted the sovereignty of the British Crown in return for Her Majesty's protection.
Grey met the chiefs in conference, and "in the most public manner, and in the strongest terms on repeated occasions" assured them that he had been "instructed by Her Majesty most honourably and scrupulously to fulfil the terms of the Treaty of Waitangi; that no portion of their lands should be alienated without their consent; and that they were free to sell or hold as they pleased. But one thing they must understand for the future—that if once they sold their land to the Pakeha White man.
The active rebels under Heke and Kawiti were well armed and strongly fortified in a rugged part of the country; but they did not amount to more than 700. There was, however, another class of natives who under the guise of neutrality were watching the course of events, intending eventually to throw in their lot with the stronger party. Grey determined to give them no alternative but to make up their minds at once. He took the field himself and called upon all loyal subjects to follow him. A native force officered by British troops was enrolled in accordance with the plan adopted in Cape Colony and the Ceylon Rifle Corps. Each soldier received 10s. a month, and a daily ration of one pound of flour and an ounce of sugar. Lord Stanley in his instructions had committed the question of native alliances to the Governor's discretion. Grey assured him that a native force would be a good institution especially in occupying a wood or lining a river. The friendship of well-disposed chiefs such as
The rebel forces were divided into two parts. Kawiti was strongly fortified at Ruapekapeka, Heke was twenty miles away to the south-west. Grey sent a small force to keep the latter in check while a decisive blow was struck at the former. Ruapekapeka was a strongly fortified camp surrounded by two rows of palisades, consisting of tree trunks one or two feet in diameter, and in height about fifteen feet above the ground. Between the rows was a space of three feet, in which there was a ditch with earth thrown up to make a parapet inside. The interior of the camp was furnished with huts, underground passages, bomb-proof holes, and caves roofed over with the branches of trees covered with earth to the depth of three or four feet. The rebels inside numbered about 500; the attacking force consisted of 1, 173 Europeans, and 450 friendly natives under Walker Nene. They had in addition several big guns and rocket tubes.
Firing began on the last day of the old year, but it was not till January 10 that two small breaches were made. Next day being Sunday the besieged evidently expected a temporary cessation of hostilities, and ventured outside to cook their food. But the friendly Patuone with some followers, together with a few British soldiers under Captain Denny, crept cautiously up to the pah, and in the face of a volley from those inside rushed through
This was enough to break the back of resistance in the north. Heke and Kawiti's forces melted away, and Walker Nene was sent by the rebels to intercede for peace, and say that they were willing to suffer punishment by surrendering their lands. They only asked for a small reserve by which they might support themselves and their families.
Grey had struck hard and quickly; but the olive branch was no sooner extended than it was grasped with both hands. The Maoris have in many respects degenerated in recent years; but in the middle of last century they displayed qualities which won the admiration of their antagonists and entitled them to rank among the noblest of savages. Writing to his friend Sir Samuel Davenport in 1846, Grey paid high tribute to their merits: "They are in many respects a noble race … they are splendid warriors, very eloquent, very sensible of praise, very proud; yet easily led. I always take a large force into the field with me, and they have shown at times as much devotion to me as if I was one of their most highly prized chiefs. Indeed they have won all my feelings and sympathies in their favour by their conduct to me." The Governor had not been in the country a year before he realized that when the Maori had pledged his word he could be splendidly loyal. With such foes he resolved to deal in the spirit of unqualified generosity by granting a free and unconditional pardon.
His policy of firmness and kindness was justified by
The war in the north was succeeded by an outbreak in the south on the Hutt River, which flows into Port Nicholson about seven miles from the place where the city of Wellington stands. Trouble had been brewing for some time, and the alienation of native lands was the cause of it. In less than three months after his arrival Colonel Wakefield, the agent for the New Zealand Company, reported that he had purchased land from the natives extending from the 38th to the 43rd degree of South Latitude on the West Coast, and from the 41st to the 43rd degree on the East Coast. But when the immigrants began to settle on the land it was clear that the Maoris did not regard the transaction in the same light as Colonel Wakefield, and strife began.
Much has been written in Mr. Rusden's History of New Zealand to show how the Maoris have been cheated of their lands by the European settlers. If it be true that history should be written in an impartial spirit this is undoubtedly one of the works that ought to be consigned to the flames; and in any case there can be no doubt that the
The language of Judge Maning is no doubt somewhat exaggerated; but he was a friend to the Maoris, and no better explanation of the insuperable difficulties incident to land transfer can be given than by quoting from a famous passage in his Old New Zealand: "I really can't tell to the present day who I purchased the land from, for there were about fifty different claimants, every one of whom assured me that the other forty-nine were humbugs and had no right whatever. The nature of the different titles of the different claimants was various. One man said his ancestors had killed off the first owners; another declared that his ancestors had driven off the first party; another man, who seemed to be listened to with more respect than ordinary, declared that his ancestor had been the first possessor of all, and had never been ousted, and that his ancestor was a huge lizard that lived in a cave on the land many years ago; and sure enough there was the cave to prove it. Besides the principal claims there were an immense number of secondary ones … one
This may be the language of exaggeration, but it is not misleading. In point of fact the British Government did recognize the claim of a native who argued its validity by affirming that he had seen a ghost on it! Can it be wondered that the transfer of native land was the most fruitful cause of misunderstanding and strife in New Zealand? Or that Captain Grey deemed it necessary to point out to the chiefs in the north that once they sold their land to the pakeha it was gone for ever? He was now obliged to go south in order to insist upon the same point by force of arms. Colonel Wakefield's claims had been investigated by Commissioners, and the extent of his purchases was greatly reduced; but the natives in the vicinity of the Hutt River disputed his claim to the fertile land along its banks. Governor Fitzroy had paid an additional £300 to satisfy the contestants; but the strife continued, and in 1846 the war in the south began under the personal direction of Captain Grey.
If the war in the north illustrate the Governor's capacity for decisive action, that in the south proves his strategic ability. He had noted that when Ruapekapeka was taken
One vital point he failed to reckon with, like so many other leaders in New Zealand. Every important Maori pah had an escape door at the back, leading out into thick forest or marsh. It was so here. Effectually cut off from communication with the cultivated lands, the natives simply retired to the hills, where there was an abundance of fern-root, and made raids upon the settlers from time to time. In one of these a party of rebels stole past the British troops and murdered an old man and a little boy in the most barbarous manner. The situation became more and more critical, and Grey's plans widened. Rangihaeta was on the heights above Porirua at the head of a harbour called by the same name. Grey now determined to seize that town in order to strike a decisive blow against him.
There was, however, one difficulty. A very wily old chief by name of Rauparaha was at that time settled in Porirua, and Grey could not be certain whether his sympathies were with Rangihaeta or the British Government. Throughout April and May he regarded Rauparaha's professions of friendship as genuine, but altered his mind in July, and after his visit to Otaki determined to capture and make him prisoner. About an hour before dawn on July 23, a mixed company of 130 men left H.M.S. Driver, and made their way under cover of darkness to Rauparaha's house. After having completely surrounded it a party Calliope. When Rangihaeta heard of it he moved down from the hills with a force; but it was too late, and Rauparaha remained a prisoner till, in the following year, Te Whero Whero and Walker Nene pledged their words for his future good conduct, and promised to keep him in the north till the Governor felt that it was safe to allow him to return to his tribe in the south.
This capture made a deep impression on the natives, for, according to the New Zealand Spectator, Rauparaha lost caste among them, and was regarded as little better than a slave. Whether this be true or not, after events show that the seizure of Rauparaha marked a turning-point in the history of the struggle. Attacks were still made upon the settlers, but the rebels were driven further up the Horokiwi Valley to take refuge among the more distant tribes.
The third and last struggle with the natives during Grey's first administration commenced when on April 16, 1847, a midshipman of H.M.S. Calliope accidentally shot a native through the head in the neighbourhood of the Wanganui River. According to Maori custom it was necessary that blood should be atoned for by blood, and shordy afterwards a woman and four children were murdered by a party of natives led by Rangihaeta. Five of the murderers were seized by the friendly Maoris, handed over to the authorities, and most of them were executed by court-martial. This led to a general outbreak, and the Governor, who by this time had a considerable knowledge
Finding this method of conducting warfare uncommonly dull, the natives announced their satisfaction in the number of soldiers killed, but declined to ask for peace. Grey had made up his mind that they should. The blockade was continued, and no trade was permitted between the rebels and the people of Wanganui. There was something peculiarly distasteful to the native mind in this kind of warfare: no fighting, no glory, hardly anything to eat but fern-root, and worse than all—no tobacco! Where now were the feasts of kumeras, pigs, and eels with which the heroes of old were accustomed to gorge themselves? What was a smoke of dried leaves compared to a pipe of strongly-flavoured tobacco? There was excitement in the contest with an embodied foe; but this persistent struggle against their own inward cravings brought them to their knees. The Governor received a letter asking for peace, and on February 21, 1848, the treaty was signed which brought hostilities to a close.
The war in the north had been quickly ended and it brought Grey much credit; but some of the charges made against him for his conduct of the war in the south are worthy of consideration. There was an outcry against him in Wellington because, after the rebels escaped from the valley of the Hutt, he stopped on the edge of the forest instead of pursuing them into the interior. The same charge was afterwards made against Sir Duncan Cameron at a time when Grey was quarrelling with him during his
After explaining that the system of warfare in New Zealand was utterly different from that which was carried on in Europe he explained that, "if the enemy retire into a dense and mountainous forest of almost boundless extent, and our troops are directed to pursue them, the simple result is that the enemy are driven farther into the forest, and our troops are ultimately after a heavy loss compelled to retire upon the open country and their supplies." The experts may be left to decide on the merits of this contention, provided they remember how little of the country was opened up in 1846, and do not overlook the proportion between the European and native populations in that year.
Much more has been said and written about the seizure of Te Rauparaha. It is quite true that there was no conclusive evidence to prove that he was carrying on secret negotiations with Rangihaeta, or that he was in league with the Wanganui tribes to carry out a scheme for the destruction of British soldiers. Grey did receive a letter signed by Mamaku, a chief of Wanganui, stating that Rauparaha was in communication with "a former rebel and bad fellow" of that district, and that a party of hostile natives was marching along the coast to join Rangihaeta if possible. He showed the letter to Rauparaha, "watched him narrowly;" but the chief "gave no sign of implication." Another letter to the Wanganui tribes signed by Rauparaha came into his possession, but Grey admitted that it might have been a
There was certainly nothing in Rauparaha's previous career to reassure Grey. He had been associated with some of the most diabolical acts of treachery and revenge in the history of the native tribes of New Zealand; and chief among them was his destruction of the people of Akaroa in 1830, with the help of an incarnate fiend whose name was Stewart. Even in the absence of positive evidence it was necessary to take the utmost precautions when dealing with such a ruffian, and though in April and May the Governor believed in his sincerity, he began to suspect him in June, and about the middle of July had come to the conclusion not only that he was the directing head of a formidable conspiracy, but that "under guise of assisting us" he was doing everything in his power to prevent the capture of Rangihaeta. It is not without some significance that Rangihaeta should have made some effort to rescue Rauparaha, and that he afterwards composed a Lament in his honour, while he was a prisoner on board H.M.S. Calliope.
There would in all probability have been much less
But whatever may be urged in favour of the capture of Te Rauparaha, there is little to be said in defence of the execution of Wareaitu, better known by his baptismal name
Even had the proceedings of that court-martial been regular Luther should not have been tried by it, for Wellington was not under martial law, and he was entitled to a fair trial in the court there. But in point of fact the tribunal itself was condemned by the Imperial authorities.
Wareaitu was a brave and distinguished man highly respected among those who knew him, and Grey's excuse that his execution would be a guarantee of safety to the settlers only serves to show how indefensible the execution was. It is so entirely opposed to the spirit of his native policy that one is driven to suppose that he was too deeply engrossed in other matters to revise the decision of the court. Be this as it may the responsibility lies at his door, and there is nothing in the correspondence that took place between him and the Colonial Secretary to mitigate the severity of the judgment pronounced by Dr. Thomson See Arthur S. Thomson's Story of New Zealand, Vol. II., p. 140. It may be of interest to add that among Sir G. Grey's papers I have found a number of criticisms in his own handwriting on certain statements made by Mr. School History of New Zealand. Many of these criticisms are written in his own defence; but there is no reference to Martin Luther, nor any attempt made to clear up the difficulties suggested by Mr. Moss in connection with the execution.
Investigation of land-titles in New Zealand by Captain Hobson—Governor Fitzroy's weak and vacillating policy—Important dispatch from Governor Grey to Mr. Gladstone on the Land Question—Reversal of Governor Fitzroy's policy—Legal proceedings and an appeal to the Privy Council—The famous dispute between the Governor and Archdeacon Williams—The Governor's triumph—The privileges, history, and failure of the New Zealand Company—Sir George Grey's conflict with the directors and the Colonial Secretary—His reasons for declining to pay the principal and interest on the debt— Reduction in the price of land from 20s. to 5s. an acre—Undesirable effects of the measure—Storm of opposition aroused in the Colony by Earl Grey's Instructions concerning the occupation of "Waste Lands"—The Instructions examined—Vindication of Earl Grey.
While this struggle against the natives was going on the Governor was waging war against the great landowners in New Zealand. When the natives were guaranteed in the possession of their lands by the Treaty of Waitangi, the right of voluntary alienation was not, of course, denied; but it was limited, in their own interests, by the operation of another clause which reserved the right of pre-emption for the Crown. Shortly after his arrival, in the beginning of 1840, Lieutenant-Governor Hobson proclaimed the illegality of direct purchase of lands from the natives, and intimated his intention of investigating the claims already made by European settlers. This was effected by three commissioners appointed in accordance with the provisions
There was, however, another aspect of the question which British ministers at a distance of 12,000 miles did not fully appreciate. Restrictions on the voluntary alienation of land meant a diminution of income to the natives, and therefore less tobacco, and inadequate supplies of guns and ammunition. The Maoris complained of injustice, and Governor Fitzroy, in March 1844, waived the Crown's right of pre-emption, giving the settlers permission to purchase land directly from the natives provided they paid at the rate of 10s. an acre to the Government for the privilege. This was bad policy. Greedy speculators lost no time in explaining to the natives that were it not for this payment of 10s. an acre to the Government, they could afford to give them a much higher price for their land. Nor did they scruple to point out, in defiance of the best interests of the natives, that so long as this payment was enforced by the Governor it constituted clear proof that the lands were not their own, the Treaty of Waitangi notwithstanding. After the natives had made a significant display of their strength at a great feast near Auckland, the Governor, realizing his own helplessness, agreed to exact only a nominal
"The effect of the mode in which the local government has allowed land to be purchased of the natives has been, in so far as the native is concerned, to lead him to desert his legitimate occupations, and instead of looking to his surplus produce as the means of acquiring European commodities, to resort to the more immediate source of wealth— the sale of land. To effect this the native with his friends frequents the vicinity of Europeans for weeks, neglecting his true interests; tract after tract of land is disposed of to the speculators, and from the facility with which he acquires European property the native is tempted to repeat again and again the operation of improvident sales of large tracts of land, of which probably he is only part owner, or to which his title is generally doubtful. The habits of indolence thus acquired become inveterate, and, as the natives are daring and well armed, undoubtedly the conquest of fresh territory from other tribes will ultimately be looked upon by them as the source of further revenue. Already their cupidity has been so excited that in some instances they have proceeded to disastrous wars among themselves, regarding portions of territory to which other claims exist.
"The effect produced upon Europeans is equally bad. Impressed by the hope of acquiring wealth by the resale of
Under the influence of these convictions he proceeded to undo all that Governor Fitzroy had done. He denounced the 10s. and penny-an-acre proclamations by exposing the "corrupt administration" of paid officials. Instead of giving full publicity concerning the lands that were for sale, the knowledge was communicated only to a few; and while it was announced in the Gazette that not more than a few hundred acres would be alienated at one time, certain individuals had been "privately but officially advised" to make "separate applications on behalf of more persons than one." The result was that one speculator whose case Grey sent on for the Colonial Secretary's consideration, acquired 4,140 acres within a range of seven miles from Auckland by the payment of one horse, saddle, and bridle, five double-barrelled guns, and one pair of trousers!
After investigation he determined to divide the claimants into two classes, in order to discriminate between the mere s. an acre. In a test case which was tried before the Supreme Court the judges "decided that the waiver of the Crown's right of pre-emption was null and void." In the dispute about extended grants the Chief Justice and Mr. Justice Chapman decided that they were in conformity with law. Grey, who knew that he had the sympathy of the Imperial authorities, appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the case of the Queen v. George Clarke. The decision of the Supreme Court was reversed, and Grey's triumph was complete.
Among the claimants for extended grants was a member of the Church Missionary Society whose name is honourably associated with the introduction of Christianity into New Zealand. Archdeacon Henry Williams had settled down in the neighbourhood of the Bay of Islands, and in the desire to make provision for the members of his family had acquired land to the extent of 9,000 acres. In September 1843 he had been awarded 2,560 acres in liquidation of his claims by the commissioners; but the case was reopened under Governor Fitzroy, and his grants were again extended to 9,000 acres. Sympathizing so strongly as he did with missionary work, Grey endeavoured in company with the Bishop and the Committee of the Church Missionary Society, to induce the Archdeacon to give way, on the full
Whether on the simple question they would have been successful had nothing else intervened, it is impossible to say. But the contents of a private dispatch written by Grey on June 24, 1846, had been divulged, and the Archdeacon took up an uncompromising attitude in opposition to the language employed by the Governor. This was the famous "blood and treasure" dispatch in which Grey affirmed that certain powerful individuals, including members of the public press, officers of the Church Missionary Society, and important officers under the Government could not be put in possession of their tracts of land "without a large expenditure of British blood and money;" and though he did not actually say it, any ordinary reader might infer from his argument that the land claims of the missionaries constituted one cause of the native discontent that led to the war in the north.
The Archdeacon who had spent so many years of his life in the service of the Maoris naturally resented so damaging an imputation, and demanded of the Governor substantiation by inquiry, or full and honourable retraction. Out of respect for the Crown's representative the Imperial authorities declined to hold an inquiry, and so, despite the appeals of the Bishop and the remonstrances of the Committee of the Church Missionary Society, the Archdeacon set his teeth, and yielded nothing to which he was not constrained by law.
Very much has been written in reference to this controversy as a balm for hurt minds, or as a vent for spleen.
Always remembering that no explicit charge was made by-Grey, there is sufficient evidence to show that Archdeacon "Williams may be relieved from any imputation of having caused the war, and it is also clear from the letters of Bishop Selwyn and the diary of the Rev. Mr. Burrows that the Maoris preserved a respectful consideration for the missionaries and their property during the progress of hostilities. Yet it does not follow that the Governor was entirely in the wrong. What Archdeacon Williams, as a citizen, was entitled to do is one thing; what, as a missionary, it was expedient for him to do is another. It is undeniable that the Maoris were sensitive on this question of the alienation of lands, and that it was the fruitful cause of strife between them and the Europeans in after years. But there was another reason for caution. "I have never read in history, nor met in real life with a case such as the present, in which a few individuals who were sent out to a country at the expense of pious people in order that they might spread the truths of the gospel, have acquired such large tracts of land from ignorant natives over whom they have acquired a religious influence." The language is guarded and only serves to show how cleverly Grey could insinuate a charge without really committing himself. He felt, as also did Bishop Selwyn and the Committee of the Church Missionary Society, that in the interests of their calling it was eminently desirable that the missionary's motives should be absolutely above suspicion; and Grey's case appeared all the stronger at the time because the missionaries of the Wesleyan and Roman Catholic denominations abstained from the purchase of any lands for private use.
The Colonial Secretary was heartily in sympathy with the Governor in this contention, and expressed his opinion in the most candid manner. Towards the end of 1847, the "children of the missionaries and catechists" transmitted a memorial to the Queen asking for protection in their reputations and property against the Governor. As Mr. Carleton's book in defence of Archdeacon Williams contains much adverse criticism of Sir George Grey, it is only fair to quote from the Colonial Secretary's reply to this memorial: "You will acquaint the petitioners that I have laid their petition before the Queen, but that I have not been able to recommend Her Majesty to comply with its prayer. I am satisfied that it is neither consistent with justice, nor compatible with the interests of the public or of the natives that the petitioners should hold the large quantities of land to which they lay claim. … I have merely to convey to you my entire approbation of the course which you have pursued on this subject, and my extreme regret that the petitioners have not felt willing to accept those liberal offers by which, with the concurrence of the Bishop of New Zealand, you endeavoured to effect an amicable adjustment of these questions. I have now no alternative left me but to instruct you, as I have done in another dispatch, to take measures for annulling by means of the proper proceedings before the courts of law, such of these grants as are duly pronounced to be illegal with a view to the resumption of the excessive portions of them."
In the heat of controversy Grey no doubt used language open to the charge of exaggeration, and perhaps of misrepresentation; but that is true also of his opponents. In
Throughout this conflict with the speculators and the landowning missionaries Grey had been strongly supported by the Imperial authorities. He was not so successful in his contest with the New Zealand Company, which had s. an acre. "It is a dangerous precedent," he argued, "to hand over the land fund of the country to irresponsible people who may not work with the Government, and who are not obliged to make public the manner in which their funds are disposed of." He objected also to the manner in which the money was being used. Half the proceeds were devoted to immigration, but the rest he declared was used to pay interest and dividend on capital and stock. Why not do in New Zealand as is done elsewhere—let the land be sold by auction, and the proceeds be put into the Treasury? Then after deducting the cost of purchase and administration let 50% of the surplus be devoted to immigration, 25% to public works, and the remainder to the improvement of the natives. Edward Gibbon Wakefield is reported to have said that the Company was founded by men with great souls and little pockets, and fell into the hands of men with great pockets and little souls. Whether Grey believed this or not, it is clear that he was turning a critical eye on the dividends of the shareholders.
By the middle of the same year he had come to the £ I an acre. Admitting the force of some arguments in its favour, he pointed out that the real value of some of the land in New Zealand, even after it had been beneficially occupied for some years, was not more than a few shillings an acre. Men were therefore driven to seek for depasturing licences at a time when the prosperity of the country depended on the occupation of limited runs by small families, who could be induced to make improvements by having permanent possession. He therefore asked to be allowed to reduce the price of land, or at least to modify the Act in such a way as to enable him to assess the occupied land with the stock running on it, and give the occupant the chance of buying at the assessed price.
Such convictions brought him into conflict with the supporters of the New Zealand scheme and in particular with their agent, Mr. Fox, who soon found himself in a most unenviable position. The Company had been beset with difficulties from the beginning, for the average Englishman did not care to leave his home for a country in which the natives were renowned for cannibalism; and the Wairau massacres in 1843 gave a decided check to immigration. The proceeds of land sales fell off to such an extent that in 1846 the British Parliament was obliged to render assistance by granting a loan of £100,000, which was followed by another of £136,000 on condition that the amounts should be repaid in the year 1850. This the Company found itself unable to do, and in July of that year surrendered its charter and proceeded to wind up its affairs, £268,370 by reserving 5s. an acre from all future sales of lands.
Grey declined to carry these instructions into effect, and the quarrel entered upon a new phase in which the Colonial Secretary and the shareholders of the Company were arrayed against him. The Governor contended that the instructions were essentially unjust. The Company's affairs had been left in a condition of confusion and the Government was obliged to expend considerable sums of money in order to satisfy claimants: not one of the settlers had secured a valid conveyance of the land purchased from the Company, and original surveys were so incomplete that it was impossible to locate portions marked out on the map. Sometimes a new survey had to be made in order to settle quarrels between the Company and the settlers, and there were no less than 40,000 acres selected which were not yet acquired from the natives. In order to secure an equitable arrangement of these difficulties Grey proposed that some capable and disinterested person should be sent out from England in order to value the property given in compensation for losses and muddles, and deduct the amount from the £268,370, it being understood that the Government and the New Zealand Company should be bound to accept his decision. Instead of complying the directors agreed to cancel the debt provided that a sum of £200,000 was immediately paid.
Grey replied by quoting figures, and suggesting that when the Company wound up its affairs the balance between assets and liabilities might prove to be on the wrong side. There were still 200,000 acres to be assigned to dissatisfied claimants, and the local government had already spent £10,000 in order to complete the Company's contracts. But there was another reason why he considered that the general instructions issued to him were unjust. The province of Auckland was 100 miles north of the Company's sphere of operations, and not one shilling of the Company's money had been spent there; yet the people of that province were expected to contribute to the payment of this so-called debt. He now made the further suggestion that the British Parliament should temporarily assume the debt of £200,000 until it could be decided what proportion of the debt should be paid, and also from what portion of the land revenue.
The shareholders of the Company had hitherto contemplated Grey's opposition to his instructions with some apprehension. They were now filled with alarm, and the directors complained to the Colonial Secretary that the Governor was acting in a manner "practically irresponsible," and that he had virtually refused to make the payment by neglecting to transmit any proportion whatever of the proceeds of land sales. The Duke of Newcastle, who had already written with some spirit expressing his disappointment at the delay, now called for a speedy settlement; and in December 1853, while regretting the Governor's determination "directly to disobey the instructions of Her
Grey was also successful in his opposition to one of the fundamentals of the Company's scheme—the minimum price of land. Realizing their inability to grapple with the practical difficulties incident to the transfer of land, the Imperial authorities decided to entrust the local government with the power to administer Crown lands. Grey, who was still anxious to settle the small farmer on the large tracts leased for depasturing purposes, determined to use his newly acquired power by fixing the upshot price of land at 5s. an acre. Owing to the discovery of gold in Australia the price of provisions was high, and there was a good market for the produce of the small holder who would cultivate his land. There was naturally much opposition in the south from those who had paid £1 an acre for their land; but the Governor carried the Executive Council with him, and they unanimously voted that His Excellency's action was well calculated to promote the progress and prosperity of the Colony, and give contentment to the great body of the inhabitants.
Before he left New Zealand Grey travelled on foot from Auckland to Wellington over a distance of about 650 miles, and "everywhere found great satisfaction owing to the reduction in the price of land." There is little doubt that he exaggerated the sentiment in favour of his policy; nor does a survey of later events justify the opinion that he
But no dispute about lands excited so much general interest as that which arose from Earl Grey's Instructions accompanying the Charter of 1846, by which the Governor was commanded to adopt means for establishing "the exclusive title of the Crown to all unoccupied or waste lands" in New Zealand, This was the "infamous design" which aroused a storm of opposition in the Colony, and was made the occasion for the transmission of memorials to the British Government solemnly protesting against a violation of established law as well as of national faith. Yet when the facts are considered dispassionately it is hardly possible to escape the conclusion that Earl Grey knew far better than the Bishop or the Chief Justice where to draw the line between sentimental indulgence and political rectitude; and this at least is certain that no Colonial Secretary asserted more clearly and forcibly than he did, that the terms of the Treaty of Waitangi should be "most scrupulously and religiously observed." The Governor knew this, and while he
There were those who contended that there were no "unoccupied or waste lands" in the Colony, for the natives were accustomed to range over the country in search of game, fern-root, and fish. The agent of the New Zealand Company went to the other extreme, and declared that according to Royal Instructions native ownership was confined to the narrowest limits. Against this Grey protested in 1847, that "to deprive them of their wild lands, and to limit them to lands for the purpose of cultivation is, in fact, to cut off from them some of their most important means of subsistence." But at the same time he vindicated Earl Grey from any such interpretation by stating that the Instructions referred only to such lands as had no claimants; that they did not in any way touch the Treaty of Waitangi, and that he saw no essential difference between those Instructions and the contentions of the Chief Justice. It so chanced that Earl Grey was himself preparing a reply to the memorialists which was posted about the same time as the Governor's dispatch. They crossed on the way. But the interpretation of the Instructions was almost exactly the same in both, and the Colonial Secretary afterwards acknowledged this "with great satisfaction."
There was, however, another argument in the Instructions which gave rise to alarm. Even if it could be shown that there were no "unoccupied lands," there arose the further question—what use was being made of these lands? New Zealand was not much less extensive than the British Islands;
The solution which Earl Grey offered may be fraught with danger, but it is reasonable in principle; and with the exercise of due caution may be just in application, Quoting a paragraph from the pages of Dr. Arnold he wrote: "Men were to subdue the earth, that is, to make it by their labour what it would not have been by itself, and with the labour so bestowed upon it came the right of property in it. Thus every land which is inhabited at all belongs to somebody; that is, there is either some one person or family or tribe or nation who have a greater right to it than any one else has. It does not and cannot belong to everybody. But so much does the right of property go along with labour, that civilized nations have never scrupled to take possession of countries inhabited only by tribes of savages—countries which have been hunted over but never subdued or cultivated. It is true they have often gone further, and settled themselves in countries which were cultivated, and then it becomes robbery. But when our fathers went to America and took possession of the mere hunting grounds of the Indians—of lands on which man had hitherto bestowed no labour—they only exercised a right which God has inseparably united with industry and knowledge."
With such reasoning Earl Grey clearly sympathized, and proceeded to apply it to the condition of affairs in New Zealand. To deprive the natives of any portion of the
Earl Grey's instructions concerning the registration of native lands were no doubt impracticable for the time being because of the uncertainty of boundaries. But the Governor found nothing in them to justify the hubbub in the country. On the contrary, he informed the Colonial Secretary in 1848 that the natives had become aware that the real payment for their lands was the security they felt respecting the portion that was reserved for their use, and the increased value that was given to them by neighbouring European settlements. As to the general argument Grey would have been untrue to the convictions of a lifetime had he not sympathized with the Colonial Secretary. In effect Earl Grey had contended that while priority of occupation should be respected, the claims based upon general utility must ultimately prevail.
The argument cuts deep, and may be applied in more ways than one. In the march of progress and civilization it would appear that people must learn to take up less room on the earth's surface by drawing more deeply from its resources.
Fundamental consideration dominating Sir George Grey's native policy—His profound interest in the History and Language of the Maoris—His whole-hearted sympathy with the missionaries—His scheme for the education of native children— Employment of adults on roads, farms, and in the police force—Measures adopted for securing justice to the natives in the Law Courts—Sir George Grey's personal influence over the Maoris—Their lamentations on the eve of his departure—Leading defect in the Governor's native policy—Neglect of wise instructions issued by Earl Grey—Consequences of the rapid diminution in the authority of the chiefs in New Zealand.
There is something peculiarly gratifying in turning from this record of strife to a study of Grey's native policy, which reveals so much of harmony and good-will in the relations between governor and governed. If the argument of the following pages be correct it would appear that he failed of complete success through neglect of instructions sent him by the Colonial Secretary on a question of vital importance; but in the general estimate it will hardly be denied that his administration of native affairs constitutes one of the noblest attempts to reconcile the interests of two races in close contact with each other, the one just emerging from barbarism, the other accustomed to representative institutions for many centuries. "I determined from the first," he
Most of the difficulties with which a governor has to contend when called upon to administer the affairs of two races so essentially different, arise from misunderstanding. The natives were good speakers, but they had a peculiar habit of expressing their will indirectly by reference to well-known songs, or by allusion to ancient story. It was not easy for any European to follow the suggestion, and one of Grey's earliest mistakes arose from an inaccurate interpretation of a speech delivered by Walker Nene on the alienation of tribal lands. "I soon perceived," he wrote, "that I could neither successfully govern, nor hope to conciliate a numerous and turbulent people with whose language and manners, customs, religion, and modes of thought I was quite unacquainted." He therefore applied himself sedulously to those studies which resulted in the publication of Ko Nga Mohaka, ne Nga Hakariora, O Nga Maori in 1853; Polynesian Mythology and ancient traditional History of the New Zealand Race in 1855, and a Collection of Maori Sayings and Proverbs in 1857.
The work extended over many years, and was carried on during the intervals of pressing public business in a way that
The party were making their way along the Thames River in the direction of Rotorua; but when they had reached the Mangawheri Creek the rain poured down in torrents, and the river rose so high that it was impossible to make further progress. This delay was however turned to good account by the Governor, who "amused himself all day in his tent surrounded by natives, learning their songs, proverbs, and ceremonies." At length they reached the hot lakes, and while crossing from Ngae to Ohinemutu the viceregal party landed on the island of Mokiao. The wind blew so fiercely that it was impossible for them to get away in their ill-constructed canoes. "Now, O Governor, just look round you and listen to me," said an old Maori as they waited near the landing-place. "That very spot you are sitting upon is the identical place on which sat our great ancestress Hine Moa when she swam out here from the main. I'll tell you the whole story." And there, under the shady branches of a fine Pohutu-Kawa, the Governor took down word for word the famous legend of Hine Moa who "rose up in the water as beautiful as a wild white hawk, and stepped upon the edge of the bath as graceful as the shy white crane."
The difficulties under which he laboured were great. There was not even a Maori dictionary on his arrival, and in some cases it took years to put the different parts of a legend correctly together. But he was amply repaid, not only by reason of the fact that his book has remained for fifty years
Shortly after his arrival Grey decided to restrict the sale of spirituous liquors among the natives, and to guard against future insurrections by preventing them from acquiring arms and ammunition. There was much opposition to these measures, which he hoped to overcome by his plans for their educational, industrial, and religious improvement. Much had already been done in these ways by the missionaries of three denominations—Church of England, Roman Catholic, and Wesleyan. Instead of starting any new system he £3,500, the second £1,600, and the third £800. But in addition to this, grants of land were made, which in the general progress of the country would increase in value, and be sufficient at no very distant date to make the institutions self-supporting. In return for this it was stipulated that the Government should be empowered to appoint examiners to inquire into the state of the schools; that the English language should be taught; and that each school should be a centre for industrial training. In addition to the missionary, therefore, each boarding school had a carpenter, and an agricultural labourer; and it was expected that implements, horses, and cows should be provided out of the Government funds. Grey was no doubt inclined to over-estimate the amount of work accomplished in these schools, but he worked harmoniously with the missionaries, and in process of time the system was extended to include natives from the Pacific Islands.
His highest hopes for the civilization of the natives centred mainly in the education of the children; but he had plans for the improvement of the adults, which were part of his scheme for the peaceful settlement of the country. "I am quite satisfied," he wrote, "that no cheaper, more s. 6d. a day, and the chief who acted as overseer 3s a day. Before Grey left the Colony the old fighting chief Rangihaeta had made a road twenty-two miles long at his own expense! The wheelbarrows used were made by the Maoris, and the sheds for workmen were erected by them also.
The Maoris were an agricultural people, and Grey lost no opportunity of trying to induce them to extend their operations, and adopt improved methods. Instead of alienating their lands, he besought them to rely on the produce of the soil for subsistence. From time to time he wrote glowing reports of the progress made. At Nelson in 1848 they had planted 340 acres of wheat, and at Waikato in the following year were producing fruit, potatoes, and indian corn in considerable quantities. In that district there were nearly 1,000 acres under wheat, and they had also two flour-mills and one watermill erected. The Governor sent home a present of flour ground at one of their own mills, from wheat which was taken from their fields, and he hoped that Her Majesty might say something in return to encourage their attachment to herself. Before he left the Colony he was able to report that nearly every considerable village in the North Island had a watermill, and that on the Waipa River alone there were no less than ten erected at a cost of £2,720, and all of them belonged to the natives.
In order to undermine their belief in magic, and to secure their attachment to the Government, hospitals were erected at Auckland, Wellington, Wanganui, and Taranaki. Baths were provided in order to foster habits of cleanliness. But progress was slow. The Maori clung to his magic, and dirt clung to him, with amazing tenacity. Yet in 1852, Grey was able to report that 556 patients had been treated at Taranaki, and 401 at Wanganui.
He tried to enlist the sympathy of the natives on the side of law and order by associating them with the administration of justice. A native police force was organized, and he intended to make use of the more intelligent on juries, and in the most elementary branches of the judicial work when they had qualified by attaining sufficient knowledge of English law. But the difficulties were very great owing to the essential difference between the moral codes of the English and Maoris and the estimate of wrongs and punishments based upon them. The case of Maroro will serve to illustrate. In 1849 he was convicted of robbery and sent to Wellington gaol for four months. Three days after his release he went axe in hand to the house of Mr. Branks of Porirua, and murdered him and his two sons. According to Maori usages this was "utu," and the disgrace of imprisonment was wiped out. Maroro was afterwards executed.
Even the organization of the native police was beset with difficulties, and if it gave those actually employed a bias in favour of the law, a very different spirit was sometimes aroused in others. One day during a scuffle in the streets of Auckland a Maori chief was knocked down by a native
Conscious of their helplessness the chief and his men retreated crestfallen, only to realize that the tide had gone out, and that their canoes had been left high and dry on the beach. They begged permission to await the rise of the tide, but the Governor was obdurate; and amid the jeers of other natives who had gathered round them, they were obliged to drag thirty-five heavy canoes over the mud to deep water. Grey's victory was complete. In two days the native chief and some of his associates returned and laid their meres and spears at the feet of the Governor in token of submission.
The Maoris were unable to take much part in the administration of justice, but Grey took precautions to safeguard their interests in a variety of ways. Resident magistrates were appointed to report on the disposition of the native population, and supervise the collection of the revenue. In arriving at decisions they were instructed to be guided by "equity and good conscience," and in order to give the natives an opportunity of proceeding against dishonest traders, a lawyer of ability was appointed as their standing counsel at a salary of £100 a year, and five per cent commission on all £490 received from Europeans in Auckland alone.
It has been asserted that, generally speaking, the Maoris are bereft of any true feelings of gratitude. The departure of Grey for England would appear to furnish the strongest evidence to the contrary. Toward the end of 1853 Maori-land rang from end to end with praises of the "father" who had taught his children to plough, to build, and to accumulate property. Songs and addresses were composed in his honour by nearly all the tribes in the country. "Suppose not, O Governor, that this affection for you is merely an outside thing; it comes from the inward recesses of the heart;"—and there is good reason to believe it. In token of their sincerity the Ngatitoa, Ngatiawa, and Ngatiraukau tribes presented him with the heirlooms brought over from Hawaiki to New Zealand by their ancestors. The generosity of others went still further. The natives of the South Island asked what they might do to show their good-will for him. Grey asked them to surrender some territory to the Crown in order that a disagreeable controversy might be ended. After three days' discussion they acceded to his request, and the Governor was able to leave the island in a state of complete tranquillity.
Grey's influence over the natives was undoubtedly great, and his schemes for the amelioration of their condition were magnanimous and, in many respects, successful. Yet there was one great defect which did not escape the notice of the
After the introduction of Christianity, the Maori's hold on traditional beliefs became more and more relaxed; customs once held sacred became the subject of debate, and soon lost their power over the native mind. To some extent this was desirable, but in their zeal the missionaries neglected to sift the sand from the gold. If some of the Maori customs were barbarous and even frightful, others like "Tapu" inculcated a profound respect for authority. Even if they are wrong who say that the Maoris had nothing more than a veneer of civilization, it can hardly be contended that Christian truths ever became so universally authoritative as the old beliefs had been; and when these beliefs were shaken, the authority of the chief tottered too, for he was Ariki—chief and priest in one. "We have seen whole races in all these islands in a few years throw off the yoke of idolatry, and eagerly embrace the Christian faith: that powerful chiefs, to gain the benefit of the truth, sacrificed worldly rank and power; and without compensation of any kind, manumitted their slaves whose labour constituted their chief source of wealth, and established in their territory Christianity in its simplest and most primitive
But there is another side to the question. Granted that Christianity acted as a powerful solvent on Maori society, were adequate precautions taken to supply some new and better form of authority for that which was lost? Ngapora thought not in 1848, and when Grey returned to New Zealand in 1861 there was no authority in Maoriland which the natives would respect; and great-hearted Tamihana was struggling to restore order by setting up a king. Contemporary writers are agreed that the one thing needful in Maoriland after 1861 was the establishment of some authority which could make itself obeyed. There was no such authority, and Grey must share the responsibility because of a wilful neglect of instructions issued by the Colonial Secretary upon the point.
Earl Grey was deeply impressed with Ngapora's letter, and after careful consideration wrote a dispatch of forty-four pages on the subject which would be interesting reading to those who ridicule him for his "doctrinaire politics," or denounced him for entertaining schemes hostile to the native interest. Earl Grey's contention is essentially the same as that which prevails among many serious-minded people in South Africa to-day—that the authority of the chief ought to be maintained and used, not destroyed; and his argument was a powerful defence of evolutionary as against the well-intentioned, but somewhat revolutionary methods adopted by Grey and the missionaries. To both he gave credit for
It may be that, even had the Governor tried to carry out the suggestions of the Colonial Secretary, confusion would still have eventuated and war followed; but the most trenchant criticism that can be passed on Grey's native administration is the one suggested by a perusal of this neglected dispatch. The permanent success of Grey's policy depended upon the rapid assimilation by the Maoris of British ideas of government, and their ready acquiescence in the authority of the Queen's representative. It is true that he achieved marvellous success during his administration;
Earl Grey's Charter of 1846—Suspension of the Charter by Governor Grey— Difficulties concerning the Native Franchise—Grey's true reasons for suspending the Charter—Attacks on the Governor by Mr. Fox and the Settlers' Constitutional Association—New constitution prepared and transmitted by Sir George Grey— Examination of the principles underlying his scheme of government—Proofs of his attachment to liberal institutions—Close of a brilliant administration in 1853— Departure for England.
The defect in Sir George Grey's native policy becomes more apparent by a study of the events associated with the establishment of representative government in New Zealand. Had it been possible to prepare the Maoris for taking part in Colonial administration in as little time as it took to undermine the authority of the chiefs all might have gone well. But in the history of human affairs destruction has ever been much easier than construction, and so it proved with the natives of New Zealand. Sir George Grey determined to "hang up" Earl Grey's constitution, and asked that it might be suspended for four or five years on the ground that the time was inopportune. The country was in an excited condition about the Instructions, the irritation caused by the alienation of large tracts of land had not subsided, and although he sympathized with Earl Grey
In support of his argument Grey pointed out that in the North Island there were, among the Europeans, 3,157 adult males in civil life, and 2,948 belonging to the military profession, while the native population was estimated at 105,000 souls; and since the Maoris were consumers of British goods, and the revenue was derived mainly from indirect taxation, he pointed out that a small portion of Her Majesty's subjects would have the right of taxing and governing the majority of another race under representative government, because the qualification for exercising the franchise practically excluded the Maoris from the privilege of voting. Instead of risking another war by altering the constitution at once, it would be better to wait till the European population had increased, till the arms and ammunition of the natives became exhausted, the irritating question of land claims settled, and the natives better fitted to take part in the administration of affairs by reason of their progress in civilization. "It is better," he said, "to err on the side of prudence and not to incur the risk of the fearful evils which would ensue from another rebellion, for the sake of acquiring one or two years earlier that which must certainly within so short a period be obtained." The Imperial Government was impressed with his argument, and in process of time he was informed that the Charter was to
In 1848 he therefore proceeded to inaugurate Representative Provincial Councils, and the tranquillity and progress of the country so far exceeded his expectations that in 1849 he believed representative government might be introduced without danger in two years' time. Instead of acting upon this hint the Colonial Secretary asked Grey to make suggestions for a new bill that was already under consideration. The Constitution of 1846 had been suspended partly because the Governor had complained of the injustice done to the natives by practically excluding them from the franchise. It is only just to point out that in transmitting his suggestions Sir George Grey could offer no real solution of the difficulty which was likely to arise from a minority of Her Majesty's subjects governing the majority of those of another race who bore so great a share of the burden of indirect taxation. And in the "Heads of the Proposals" Earl Grey pointed out that the Governor's instructions were so vague on this point that Her Majesty's Government had resolved not to establish any special native franchise, but to trust in their advance and the acquisition of property to enable them by degrees to take their share in elections along with the inhabitants of European race. The final constitution as revised by Sir John Pakington arrived, and during the elections about one hundred natives voted.
Sanguine as Grey was for the success of his native schemes, he could hardly have imagined the Maoris would
It is not surprising that many of his contemporaries should have attributed his suspension of the Charter to a love of despotic power and a dislike of popular government. It cannot be denied that Grey was an autocrat; but it is impossible to prove that he was opposed to the control of government by the people. Meetings were held in all parts of the country denouncing the suspension, and petitions were sent to the Imperial authorities urging the immediate establishment of representative government. Mr. Fox attacked "the enemy of liberal institutions" and the Settlers' Constitution Association supported him. But they misjudged the Governor, and the Colonial Secretary knew it. When the final draft of the Constitution Act was sent out in 1852 Sir John Pakington wrote at the conclusion of the accompanying instructions: "I have great pleasure in entrusting to yourself the conduct of this very important measure, and in the commission of these extensive powers to the colonists of New Zealand, Her Majesty's Government have had abundant opportunities of recognizing in the correspondenc which has taken place on this subject between yourself and their predecessors, your strong attachment to liberal institutions and the able manner in which you and your council have both prepared the way for their introduction, and urged on the Imperial Government the necessity of speedily creating them as soon as the temporary difficulties which induced you at first to advise their suspension had passed away. They
This is a sufficient refutation of the argument of Mr. Fox, Mr. Dorset and the Settlers' Constitution Association. But it may be desirable to emphasize a point so often misrepresented. "My object throughout has been to leave the colonists the most unlimited power of selecting those men whom they may judge to be most able and fitted to represent their interests." So wrote Sir George Grey in transmitting his suggestions to the Colonial Secretary; and a comparative study of the scheme which he drew up, Earl Grey's "Heads of Proposals" and Sir John Pakington's final draft, proves that he was prepared to go to greater lengths than either of his superiors. Against Earl Grey he contended that the Provincial Councils should consist of wholly elected members, and that in each province there should be an elected superintendent. Sir John Pakington ultimately decided to alter the "Heads of Proposals" in order to admit of these provisions; but instead of granting an elective Legislative Council as Sir George Grey desired, he insisted on the members being nominated for life.
If any further refutation of his misunderstanding critics be desired it may be found in his recommendation to the Imperial authorities that a low rate of franchise should be adopted. On March 18, 1849, he informed the Colonial Secretary that the poor men who came out from England to New Zealand were the most enterprising and intelligent of their class; that they soon acquired property, were obliged to consider titles and wills, and that they took part in the bona fide settlers of the country, and he sincerely hoped that the franchise would not be limited to wealthy housekeepers and merchants who only came to make a fortune and go home again.
Sir George Grey was an autocrat in the sense that he was unable to work harmoniously with those who shared responsibility with him; but not in the sense that he opposed liberal institutions. On the contrary, it is clear from his first administration in New Zealand that just as he was determined to settle the small farmer on the land, so he had made up his mind that the humble colonist should have a voice in the government of the country.
Grey left New Zealand for England on the last day of 1853, after conducting the administration for eight years with extraordinary ability and success. "When I consider the condition in which you assumed the government, the difficulties with which you had to contend, and its present state, there can in my judgment be no doubt of your title to the respect and gratitude of the inhabitants whether of native or of European race." High praise and worthy of record, since it came from Earl Grey, to whom he had been responsible as Governor for so many years. In the Colony he had made enemies, but they were comparatively few. The great heart of the people sympathized with him, and it is the work which he accomplished during this administration that New Zealanders recall when they speak of "Good Governor Grey."
Sir George Grey appointed High Commissioner of South Africa and Governor of Cape Colony in 1854—Native troubles in British Kaffraria—Organization of the tribes under Kreli—Schemes for the civilization of the natives—Association of chiefs and Europeans in the exercise of responsible power—Foundation of the Grey Hospital in King Williamstown to undermine the influence of witch-doctors— Native schools for children, and advanced schools for native teachers and the sons of chiefs—Employment of adults on roads, farms, and in European households—Grey's plan of military conquest contrasted with that of his predecessors—Intimate association of the native and European races a vital principle of his policy—General effect of his reforms on the authority of the native chiefs—Threatened insurrection under Kreli—The revelations and prophecy of Umhlakaza—Collapse of the rebellion and punishment of the chiefs—Sir Bulwer Lytton's praise of Sir George Grey's conduct of native affairs.
In a separate dispatch from New Zealand on October 8, 1852, Sir George Grey expounded his views on native policy to the Colonial Secretary at some length, and made significant references to the perpetual disturbances on the border of Cape Colony and Kaffraria. Before concluding he ventured the opinion that if some such scheme as he had adopted in New Zealand were applied to South Africa the result would be a great saving in the expenditure of blood and treasure. Earl Grey, whose mind had been agitated by the long succession of Kaffir wars, replied in a private letter of February 1853, recognizing in very laudatory terms the striking success of Sir George Grey's schemes for the
The history of Sir George Grey's administration in South Africa may be most effectively studied under four divisions: his native policy in British Kaffraria; his relations with the Boers in the Orange River Colony and the Transvaal Republic; his struggle for the unity of South Africa by the introduction of a Federal system of government; and his contributions to the maintenance and extension of the British Empire. It is much the greatest, as also the most interesting of his administrations, affording abundant evidence of his remarkable foresight, and capacity for rising to emergencies; of conceiving great and beneficent plans, and of sustained energy in carrying them into effect; of careful provision against disaster; and also of the sagacity to avail himself of "unexpected and strange incidents in the history of the Kaffirs for their advantage and for the security of the Colony." This capacity to turn impending evil into good is, perhaps, the highest achievement of statesmanship, and an examination of his native policy will show that the language of Sir Bulwer Lytton was not exaggerated.
The troubles with the Kaffirs in British Kaffraria
British Kaffraria must be carefully distinguished from Kaffirland proper. It was a limited district comprising only about 3,050 square miles between the Keiskamma and Kei Rivers, and stretching inland from the sea-shore to the Amatola mountains, which ran parallel to the coast at a distance of about fifty miles. It was, however, a fertile and densely populated region, comprising about 80,000 souls in the fourteen tribes. Of Europeans there were 1,200 excluding soldiers; half of them were in King Williamstown, the rest were distributed in the neighbourhood of five villages, East London, Izeli, Fort Murray, Keiskamma, and Dohne.
The organization of the Kaffirs was, like that of the Maoris, tribal; and the most important chiefs in British Kaffraria were Sandilli, Umhala, Pato, Kama and Siwani. For all practical purposes they exercised an independent authority; though nominally they recognized a shadowy allegiance to Kreli, the permanent chief who lived beyond the Kei in Kaffirland. In the government of the various tribes there were minor differences; but in all the power of the chief rested ultimately on force. In rendering judgment he was assisted by a body of councillors who met at the "Busa" or great place near the chief's residence; but he was not obliged to act upon their advice; and in the exercise of supreme authority was above all formal law. These observations apply more particularly to the Tambookies; but they are applicable to the Kaffirs generally. In making them I have relied on the account of Kaffir Laws and Customs given by Mr.
Yet even in Kaffirland the will of the people was a controlling force; for the chief's prestige depended on the number of his followers, and if there were cause for grave dissatisfaction the underlings would steal away under cover of night and transfer their allegiance by making a present to another chief, which in feudal language was the symbol of "commendation."
Revenue was as necessary to a Kaffir chief as to other rulers, and the methods by which it was secured furnish abundant illustrations of unjust and violent procedure. Within the tribes were subordinate divisions composed of a number of kraals, and presided over by an underchief or headsman. Each kraal was responsible for the conduct of individual members within it, and in case of trouble was liable to be "eaten up." The phrase must not be interpreted literally, for the Kaffir did not share the Maori's partiality for the flesh of his foe. It simply meant that in case of offence real or supposed a strong force would attack the kraal and seize the property, including the cattle. A portion of the spoil was handed over to the chief, and the remainder divided among members of the council, who not only gave advice, but acted as sheriffs to enforce the sentences. "Eating up" was as popular an institution as were the raids undertaken by the princeps and the comites in ancient Germania.
But in the opinion of the High Commissioner it was incompatible with order and good government, and it discouraged ambitions that ministered to the well-being of the Kaffir race; for the people were kept in a poor and restless condition, and energetic, aspiring individuals were £3,000 additional expenditure must be paid out of Colonial funds.
Nothing daunted, Grey put his scheme into effect. Apart from his desire to make the chiefs dependent upon the Crown, he valued the educational results that would be secured by the intimate association of the two races in the exercise of responsible power. Some of the chiefs wished to nominate the magistrates themselves, but this was allowed only in such cases as did not conflict with the High Commissioner's opinion. In the beginning of 1856 Grey was able to report that Kama and Umhala had accepted the magistrates of his appointment, and that Siwani, Jalai, Tabai, and Tzatzoe had intimated their willingness to do the same. After his next visit to British Kaffraria he wrote a dispatch saying that the system was generally acceptable to the natives.
In Maoriland the Ariki was chief and priest in one, in Kaffirland the offices were divided. Whether the magician among the Kaffirs was essentially priest or doctor need not be discussed, but he certainly combined the offices of both. It is necessary, however, to discriminate clearly between the herbal doctors who were skilled practitioners, and the witch-doctors whose power was based upon a deep-rooted belief in magic, and who worked by means of charms. The latter were the more powerful, and only a few gifted members of the tribe could attain to the dignity of their office. After passing through a period of training which had the effect of stimulating them to a high pitch of raving emotion, they finally attained to "renewal" or conversion. Henceforth they were "intonga" or "iggira," and had the power of communicating with the spirits of their tribal ancestors; they could infuse courage into warriors; thwart the malignant influence of evil spirits; and detect the criminal who by the exercise of spells had inflicted injury upon others. A case recorded by a servant in one of the hospitals may throw some light on their power and procedure.
The first-born son of Macomo, underchief of Sandilli, was ill. As this must have been the work of an enemy, a cow was sent to the witch-doctress to induce-her to come and "smell out" the offender. Around her the witch dance was executed as she sang the great witch song. Suddenly in the height of her emotion she became aware of the man who had poisoned Kona, and, as she proceeded to describe him, suspicion fell upon Panzi. A fire was lighted and the culprit was placed body downwards over stones white-hot. In the throes of his agony he confessed his
Nothing could be more calculated to arouse the indignation of Grey, whose sympathy for the poor and the oppressed was a lifelong characteristic. Following the example of his predecessors, he visited with severe punishment any witch-doctor who was caught in the practice of his profession and denounced the horrible custom on his many visits to the chiefs; but he also determined to try and undermine the belief in magic by proving the superiority of scientific methods.
Situated on the hill-side overlooking King Williamstown, and within earshot of the rushing waters of the Buffalo River, is the Grey Hospital, to which natives are brought for treatment from every part of South Africa. Over the inner doorway of the porch at the main entrance is a portrait of the founder. Little has been added to the building since Sir George Grey's time, and the matron confesses with some sadness that the Kaffirs still seem to prefer their magic, and do not make that use of the institution which might have been expected. Nevertheless much is being done, and substantial progress was made during Sir George Grey's administration. Dr. Fitzgerald, who had rendered such valuable service in New Zealand, was brought over, and placed in command. Fortune favoured him when in 1856 a blind Kaffir Woman was restored to sight. In her joy she
Besides these institutions for specific purposes Grey established and jealously guarded a general system of education among the natives. Industrial schools were erected in various parts of the country where Kaffir children received a training in agriculture and carpentry, and were instructed in a knowledge of the principles of Christianity.
His first experiment was at Heald Town, where Mr. Ayliff was placed in charge of a school for the Fingoes. It was expected that the natives would contribute to their support, and in 1857 a sum of This sum was paid back to him later by the Imperial authorities.£220 was raised from among £6,000 of his own money for their support.£40,000 to £20,000, and, despite all his efforts, the efficiency of his educational scheme was seriously impaired.
But education in the more limited sense was not the only way by which the Kaffir was to be civilized; nor was it the best in the opinion of Lord Stanley, who with an eye to Imperial expenditure in 1858 advocated "a day's work for a day's wage." In all probability Grey still trusted most, as in South Australia, to the education of the children, but he was fully alive to the importance of regular employment. In all his schemes for the settlement of British Kaffraria, and indeed of the East Coast as far as the border of Natal, it is clear that he desired the co-operation of the two races. Not, however, on the basis of equality. On the contrary, he informed the Colonial Secretary that the industrial relation between European and Kaffir should be that of employer
Under the old system the Imperial troops drove the Kaffirs before them through a country without roads, and at every stage men had to be dropped in fortified places till the front became so diminished that the force was in danger of being outflanked. So the march invariably ended in a process of exhaustion in which one army was left to defend the country, and another was engaged in the slow and laborious work of bringing wagon-loads of supplies to the scattered forts.
The most objectionable feature in this system to Grey's mind was the separation of European and native peoples. His plan was based upon a principle entirely different, and while it provided for the exigencies of war, implied mutual intercourse. The country was divided into sections by lines of forts stretching from the sea inland. These were to be connected by good roads along which guns and baggage might easily and rapidly pass from the seaports in case of emergency. One of these roads started from East London and passed through Queenstown in the direction of North;
The construction of these roads affords an illustration of his method of associating Kaffirs and Europeans in practical work. Three classes of natives were employed: one in every sixteen was an overseer receiving 1s. a day and rations; one in every eight was a second-class man, paid 9d. a day and rations; the rest were ordinary labourers. Besides these, Europeans were appointed as general overseers; but Grey found the greatest difficulty in getting men of experience who understood enough of the language and character of the natives to take charge of the working gangs. Yet it was difficult also to induce the Kaffirs to work, and much dissatisfaction was expressed by the Imperial authorities until the failure of an attempted rising brought thousands of the natives to the verge of starvation, and threw them on the mercy of the Governor.
Grey's primary object in carrying these manifold schemes into effect was the civilization of the native races. Many of the chiefs realized this and gave him full credit for his benevolent intentions. It was not long, however, before it became apparent that the indirect result was the complete subordination of the native races, and some of the more suspicious were afraid lest the ultimate effect should be their extermination.
Throughout the early years of Grey's administration there was a feeling of unrest among the Kaffirs, and in 1855 there were rumours of a combination of the tribes against
Up to the last moment Grey assured the Colonial Secretary that he did not believe war would actually break out. But there was the greatest need for caution, and at last it was given out that Umhlakaza, a priest of great reputation, had received a message from the unseen world in which he was directed to inform the Kaffirs that, on a certain day, the spirits of their dead ancestors would appear among them bringing a new race of cattle bigger and better than those which they already possessed. On the eventful morning the sun would rise in the heavens, and, after ascending for some time, turn back and set again in the east. From that day a new era would begin, for the Europeans were to be swept into the sea. These promises were, however, to be fulfilled only on condition that all the Kaffirs should make sacrifices to their ancestors by destroying the corn and cattle of which they were then possessed. All those who disbelieved would be swept away by a hurricane on the fateful day. Kreli, who was impatient of British rule, and wished to reduce the Kaffirs to a state of
Grey even then did not abandon his conviction that war would be averted, but he was well prepared for the worst. Some of the chiefs had become his friends, and declined to obey Kreli's orders even when the excitement became intense. His humane policy had divided Kaffirland into two camps, and he had an intelligence department admirably equipped. News travelled with marvellous rapidity from chief to chief in those days; but every one of Grey's magistrates was a spy, and the tribes could make no move without the High Commissioner becoming aware of it. The roads constructed by the natives afforded excellent means of transport; but more than all he had a military force thoroughly well organized and strong enough under able direction to quell any native insurrection. It was divided into three parts: the Burgher force, the Colonial force, and the Imperial troops. The last was much the most important, and at one time there were as many as ten regiments in the country. But Grey had induced the Colonial Parliament to maintain 500 armed and mounted police at a cost of £40,000 to protect the frontier, and it was a highly efficient force. So, too, the Burgher force had undergone a change for the better. In the olden days, when the frontier-man was a skilful hunter and a good marksman, he was prepared on short notice to go on commando and defend himself; but at that time the Kaffirs used assegais, not muskets; and, besides, the increase of population had brought more settled habits, and the farmer had lost much of his old cunning in handling the musket.
It was now ordained that there should be a burgher force enrolled in each district, and the cost of its training and maintenance defrayed by the local inhabitants. With such resources the High Commissioner contemplated the impending crisis without misgiving. He was determined that there should be no cause for resentment, and instructed his officers to go about their duty simply and quietly as though nothing were happening. Meantime he bought up all the corn and cattle that were for sale.
At last the fateful day arrived. On Wednesday, February 18, the sun rose in the east as usual and ascended toward the zenith. Many of the Kaffirs remained indoors lest the hurricane should sweep them away; but there was not so much as a gale, and the sun followed its usual course across the heavens, and did not turn back. It did not even stand still, but as usual set in the west, and night closed in on Kaffirland.
It was a heavy blow for Kreli and Umhlakaza; but not so great as might have been expected, for the failure was attributed to unbelief which had mortified the unseen spirits. Quarrels arose between the believers and unbelievers, and there was some fighting. On the European side two English people were murdered during the excitement, and the native losses were very great. Despite all the Governor's efforts thousands died of starvation, and it has been estimated that 100,000 were obliged to leave Kaffirland and seek employment in Cape Colony, where labour was so much needed.
Having done all he could for the relief of the infatuated people, Grey determined to strike an effective blow at the
Kreli's turn came later. That smiling, crafty old schemer was living in fancied security beyond the Kei River, waiting for a more favourable opportunity when the country might be denuded of troops. Grey fell upon him with an irregular force, striking him simultaneously at three points. He drove him beyond the Bashee River through tribes that were friendly to the British. There he remained helpless till in 1860 he wrote a letter to the High Commissioner praying for pardon, and asking for a piece of land in his former territory where he might have a home, and spend the remainder of his life free from incessant cares. This was granted, and Grey had no further trouble with him. The highest praise was bestowed on the High Commissioner for the success of his policy. Sir Bulwer Lytton freely acknowledged that he had not only averted war, but had transformed what threatened to be a grave calamity into a means of enhancing the prestige of the British Government among the native races in South Africa.
Foundation and history of the Orange River StatE—Moshesh, leader of the Basutos, and his fortress at Thaba Bosigo—Incessant quarrels between the Boer settlers and the Basutos—The boundary dispute—Line drawn by Sir George Grey in 1858—Charges of slavery against the Boers of the Orange Free State—Investigation by the High Commissioner—Cautious expression of his opinion—Difficulties with the Boers of the Transvaal—Settlement of the boundary dispute—Trouble between Dr. Livingstone and the Boers of the Transvaal—The attack on the Bakwains at Kolobeng—Serious charges made by Dr. Livingstone—Evidence to show that "virtual slavery" was practised—Extract from a letter written to Mr. M. G Pretorius—Modification of the treaties in the interests of the natives desired by the High Commissioner—Importance of the Native question in South Africa—The Boer and British points of view contrasted.
On the appointment of Sir George Grey to South Africa there were two independent Boer States in treaty with England; one between the Orange and the Vaal Rivers known as the Orange Free State, the other called the Transvaal Republic, between the Vaal and the Limpopo Rivers. The same problems arise in the High Commissioner's dealings with both of them, but in order to avoid giving a false impression it is necessary to discuss them separately. On the whole Sir George Grey's relations with the Boers were friendly, but there were disputes about boundaries and the slave traffic which caused friction, and recognizing the inefficiency of the governments beyond the Vaal, he was
Both states abutted on native territory, and on Grey's arrival were acting as buffers to break the shock of native attacks on the English settlements. The Orange River Colony had, shortly before Grey's arrival, been a British Sovereignty; but it was abandoned in 1853 because the expense of carrying on petty wars with the natives was too great. The Boers were well fitted to carry on the pioneer work of civilization, and, inured by long experience to the exigencies of a frontier life, they accepted the responsibilities of independence, though not without some protest, for there were English residents among them who maintained that nothing less than an Act of Parliament could deprive them of their allegiance to the British Crown, and, possibly, not even that. Before Sir George Grey's term of office expired, the people of the Orange River State petitioned to be united with Cape Colony under a Federal system of government. This was owing mainly to the warfare against a powerful neighbouring tribe; and it was in his efforts to secure tranquillity on his own borders by reconciling these two powers that the High Commissioner was involved in the affairs of the Orange River State.
Situated between the Orange River and its tributary the Caledon lies Basutoland, the Switzerland of South Africa. Thence some of the great rivers take their rise to flow east and west into the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. The northern and western parts of this mountainous region were occupied by the Basutos, whose chief Moshesh is one of the most picturesque figures in the native history of South
His character has been and still is the subject of much controversy. To some he was the long-suffering, much-abused defender of his own and his people's rights; to others a wily, unscrupulous savage, making professions of peace only to cloak his murderous designs on native and European neighbours. A photograph of him taken during Prince Alfred's visit to South Africa serves to give an outward impression of the man. Surrounded by his sons, he sits on a chair dressed like a European. With a high top-hat on his head and a loose cloak hanging over his shoulders and a stick in his hand, he presents an ungainly figure. But above the somewhat suppressed lips, and expansive aboriginal nose, are two half-closed inquiring eyes, with wrinkles below, and a broad expanding forehead above them. The face is not weak, but it, suggests craft rather than decision: yet there is something patient in his expression too—almost a trace of benevolence. He would prefer peace—because it was the better policy: "Peace," he once said to Sir George Gathcart, "is like the rain that makes the grass grow, war is like the hot wind that dries it up."
Yet it was one thing to believe in peace, quite another to secure it among the contending tribes of South Africa, and Moshesh had to win his way to fame by means of successful warfare. Driven south and west by Tschaka, the Zulus and Fingoes fell upon the Basutos in 1824; but Moshesh rose to the emergency, overcame them in battle, and threw them
His jurisdiction extended considerably beyond the Caledon River, and for a long time there was no rival to his authority in the sparsely-populated country stretching far away westward to the Vaal. But in 1836 there came a change. In that year the Boers of Cape Colony trekked northward, partly because some of them had visited the country and realized its fitness for pastoral pursuits, partly also because they suffered economically by England's haste in liberating the slaves; but mainly because their long experience of frontier life had made them nomadic in their habits, and impatient of the manifold checks on individual freedom and caprice which are indispensable to life in organized communities.
One of the finest wheat-growing districts in South Africa borders on the western side of the Caledon River: the soil is fertile and there is an adequate rainfall. To this attractive district the earliest wanderers directed their steps and "received permission to squat." It is impossible now to
Then the argument took a more fundamental turn. The Boers complained that Moshesh was trying to grasp more land than he could use, just as Scottish and English farmers to-day are wont to complain of the waste arising from the unscientific methods of the great landowning Boer farmers. The number of settlers increased, and the question of boundaries arose; but Moshesh becoming fundamental in his turn, declined to discuss it, since it implied what he had never conceded—a right to permanent settlement.
But forces were too strong for him. After Vecksdorp the Boers became more powerful, and Moshesh in alarm sought a treaty with the British Government, which was signed in December 1843, during the administration of Sir George Napier. Under Sir Harry Smith the land between the Orange and the Vaal Rivers was declared a British Sovereignty in 1848, and a boundary line was drawn by Major Warden the following year. To this Letsea, son of Moshesh, agreed "as a dog consents to walk after him who drags it with a rope." From this time the history of the disputes between the Boers and the Basutos entered upon a
His instructions from the Home Government and his position as High Commissioner were incompatible with any other official attitude toward the contending parties than that of strict neutrality; but it was not long before his personal services as mediator were solicited. In 1855 he passed through the Orange Free State on his way to Natal, and Mr. Boshof, who was then acting as President, arranged for him to be present at an interview between himself and Moshesh. After hearing both sides, Grey, who had been very favourably impressed with the government of the Free State, decided that the Basutos were in the wrong. He refrained from giving his opinion at once, however, because he felt that the chief's prestige might suffer if he were criticized in the presence of his followers. Later on, "in plain and strong yet friendly language" he told Moshesh, his sons, and three or four of the principal chiefs that they must come to some definite understanding with the
But this happy condition of affairs did not last long. Owing to the Basuto chief's popularity many underlings who were dissatisfied with the rulers in other tribes placed themselves under his protection. Moshesh very craftily located them on the border so that they acted as buffers between the Basutos and the Boers. Next year (1856) the President wrote to Grey stating that, however good Moshesh's intentions might be, these thievish borderers had driven his people into laager. Once again he asked him to use his influence for peace, and if that should fail, to allow volunteers to come from Cape Colony to the aid of their relatives in the Free State. Grey's reply was unequivocal. He intimated his willingness to intervene at any time in the interests of peace, but informed him in the most distinct terms that the system of policy on which he had determined to act was one of non-interference in any disputes beyond the boundaries of the Colony. War broke out in 1858 and the High Commissioner issued a proclamation threatening with pains and penalties all residents of Cape Colony who should leave their homes to take part in it. The President was deeply annoyed. Moshesh was attacked in his stronghold, but all attempts to dislodge him failed, In Dr. McCall Theal's History of South Africa,
Grey hesitated, for he had learnt on reliable authority that at the very time when Mr. Boshof had solicited his aid on a former occasion, he was roundly abusing the British Government in a series of confidential letters to the South African Republic beyond the Vaal River. But after he had been petitioned by Moshesh, and both Houses of Parliament in Capetown had urged him to comply, he decided in the "interests of humanity" to do so. The war had arisen out of disputes about the boundary line, and Grey was asked to come and draw another line that might be satisfactory to both parties. This was eventually done after much preliminary difficulty owing to the unfavourable season of the year and the necessity for dispatching men and supplies to India. As far as Jammersberg Drift it was identical with the line drawn by Major Warden in 1849. Then it followed an irregular course indicated by the zigzag line on the map. The officials in the Surveyor-General's office at Bloemfontein have, with great kindness, traced the boundary line on a map for me, by reference to the proclamation which appeared in the Gazette. After Jammersberg Drift it continues down stream to Sweetfontein, where there is a gap of a few miles that cannot be filled in because all trace of the farms referred to has been lost. Starting again at Zemenloop the line trends south-east, and crossing the Caledon reaches Mooi Meibjesfontein; thence it passes due south to the neighbourhood of Solferino, including an oblong projection extending as far as Leuwfontein, where it turns east again till it reaches Zastron Townlands. Finally it follows an irregular southerly course to Rockwood, whence after another bend to the east by way of Rietfontein, it turns due south and reaches the Orange River at longitude 27′ 15′′.
Both parties sent grateful recognition of the services which had been rendered by Sir George Grey, and there seemed good reason to believe that his work would be productive of permanent good. But it was not so. After Sweetfontein there was no natural barrier to divide one party from the other, and the line simply passed from farm to farm. Cattle lifting continued, and war broke out within a few years.
Meantime there was another cause of strife affecting the interests of European civilization. During an interview on the subject of cattle stealing Moshesh declared that the depredations were simply acts of retaliation. "We complain," he said, "that children (of the Tambookies) have been stolen from us by you (the whites), that they have been made slaves, and they are sixty in number." As the argument proceeded he referred to the incident of January 1850, when an attack was made upon some bushmen between the Modder River and Koesberg, because a settler named Van Hansen, his wife and children had been murdered. On this occasion Major Warden was in command of the expedition, and Moshesh asserted that about one hundred and fifty natives had been seized and distributed among the Boers. After making inquiries the High Commissioner found that one hundred and seven had been captured, and a contract entered into by which they were to serve the Boers for five years in return for fair wages, clothes and food. He also tried in that year (1856) to ascertain whether the terms had been kept, and wrote to Mr. Boshof's predecessor, who "in a friendly manner recommended him to inquire elsewhere."
In using his utmost endeavours to investigate these The Friend," that any of the Boers in the Orange Free State have been buying any of the children of the Tambookies? Let their names be gibbeted to the world! How can the Government deal with the natives with any prospect of the settlement of affairs if such infamous transactions are carried on?"
There was another difficulty. England was in treaty with both Republics, and it had been definitely stipulated on the part of England that slavery should be abolished. But when Grey consulted legal opinion in the Colony he was informed that "although the law does abolish slavery, and stringently under heavy punishments prohibits the purchasing, selling, bartering and transfer of slaves, yet it prescribes no punishment for having possession of a slave." In answer to the instructions which bade him put down the traffic Grey replied with much caution: he would express disapprobation openly and decidedly on every possible occasion; prevent "apprentices" being brought into British territory under any pretext; and do his best "to educate the slaveholders." The Imperial authorities realized the difficulty, for in his reply the Colonial Secretary agreed that the transactions "do not constitute offences against the statutes Tor the suppression of the slave traffic according
The difficulties which the High Commissioner experienced with the Orange Free State were intensified in his dealings with the Government of the Republic beyond the Vaal. Here, too, there was a dispute about the boundary with Natal. Grey thought he had settled this satisfactorily in 1855 with Mr. Pretorius, who claimed to be the head of the administration in the Transvaal. But in 1857 he received a letter from a legislative body "styling itself the Volksraad of the New Republic of Leydenberg" (which had recently broken away from the Transvaal), informing him that in course of time they would proceed to fix the boundary between their territory and Natal! Grey wrote at once to the Imperial authorities advising them to adhere resolutely to the boundary already determined upon. By this time he had fully realized the weakness of the Transvaal Government because of internal dissension, and when asked by the Imperial authorities to make inquiries concerning another difficulty, replied that matters had reached such a pass in that country that he actually did not know to what authority to address himself.
The troubles arising from the treatment of the natives by the Transvaal Boers are known to the Christian world because they were associated with the work of the intrepid explorer and Christian missionary, Dr. Livingstone. About eight hundred miles to the north of Capetown the Rev. Mr.
The second difficulty was much more complicated, and the decision of the Imperial authorities was characterized by caution. In their reports to the London Missionary Society Messrs. Moffat and Livingstone complained that the Boers had made "an unprovoked and murderous attack" on the Bakwains at Kolobeng, killing sixty of them, and capturing many of their women and children, whom they carried off into "unremunerated servitude." They also burnt down the town, and destroyed the library, furniture, and residence of Dr. Livingstone, who was then many miles away on his return from the South. The evidence was eventually sent on to the Imperial authorities and Grey was requested to furnish a report. Before the matter could be cleared up he received the dispatch announcing his recall. But in June 1859 the Colonial Secretary remarked, in a reply to the High Commissioner's complaint about the existing treaties, that there seemed to be jealousy between the missionaries and the Boers, and that, if the missionaries supplied the natives with arms, or incited them against the Boers, they might be very effectively injured by or through the Boers without Her Majesty being able to protect them.
It is very clear from Grey's dispatches that he considered these treaties with the Republic beyond the Vaal and the Orange Free State contained clauses which placed the natives in an unfortunate position. In the Convention of 1852 it was set down that no objection shall be made by any British authority against the emigrant Boers purchasing their supplies of ammunition in any of the British Colonies and possessions in South Africa; it being understood that all trade in ammunition with the native tribes is prohibited Grey assumed that a similar arrangement had been made in the treaty with the Orange Free State, but this was denied by the Colonial Secretary in a dispatch dated
He went still further. In addition to the clause already quoted from the Convention of 1852 there was another by which "Her Majesty's Commissioners disclaimed all alliances whatever and with whomsoever of the coloured races north of the Vaal." Grey maintained that such stipulations aroused a suspicion in the native mind that there was a formidable conspiracy among the Europeans to exterminate them; that this gave strength to the various combinations among the native tribes, and he cited the rising of 1856 as an instance in point He did not ask that any further treaties should be made with native chiefs, for he realized that such alliances were beneath the dignity of a great Power like England; but he maintained that the Imperial authorities should give him power to say in effect to the Boer
It was impossible for the Imperial authorities to comply. His arguments did not fail to make an impression on Downing Street, and Sir Bulwer Lytton confessed that the native interests had not been fairly considered in the Convention of 1852. Yet he pointed out that it was well for them to become accustomed to the idea of their sub-ordination to the white races; and in any case England's faith had been pledged, so that "unless absolved by mutual consent of the contracting parties, or by war, or by violation of the terms of the treaty, or some imperious necessity she must discharge her obligations solemnly and faithfully."
Had it been possible to prove by reference to existing acts that slavery was practised in the Transvaal, that would have been a violation of treaty which would have afforded an opportunity for reconsideration. But it was not— despite the accumulation of a vast amount of correspondence which may be found among the enclosures to the dispatches sent by Sir George Grey to the Colonial Office. Nevertheless on the authority of that evidence it may be confidently affirmed that Dr. Livingstone was substantially correct in the general charge that slavery did exist in the Republic; that raids were organized for the purpose of capturing native children; and that those children were "bought and sold." The correspondence of the London Missionary Society may have been conducted with some bias, and the reports of Mr. F. B. Surties, the Portuguese
Mr. Schoeman, his rival, accused him of being a party to the traffic in native children, and he replied with a tu quoque. It is true that Mr. Pretorius as head of the government did issue a proclamation against buying and selling native children. But there are two copies of a letter written to him by one who knew his private life better than anybody else in South Africa, which contains damaging evidence against him: "Piet has returned home with all the other people—he has for his share six head of cattle and one Kaffir girl. Mr. S. Lombardt had brought with him thirty-two large girls, and has distributed them among the people at the rate of half-a-sovereign each. On the 20th January another commando will go from here to Molocch, but which is as yet kept secret." This may not prove slavery according to the interpretation of legal enactments, but it goes far to justify the charge of "virtual slavery," which is what Dr. Livingstone meant. Writing of the Kolobeng incident he affirmed that "of the women and children captured many of the former will escape, but the latter are reduced to a state of helpless slavery. They are bought and sold as slaves." It is clear that children were bought and sold, and there can be no doubt after a study of his dispatches that Sir George.
Grey believed there was virtual slavery too.
In discussing this question it is difficult to avoid giving an impression too unfavourable to the Boers. Slavery is so repugnant to British people that prejudice is easily aroused by showing that it existed virtually if not legally. No unreserved condemnation would, however, be justified without a patient and exhaustive inquiry into the treatment of the natives after their distribution among the farmers. But this is precisely what Sir George Grey failed to effect; and it is but fair to mention that in every case where the author made inquiries among those who had long experience of the Boers in South Africa, he was informed that, while their attitude collectively toward the natives was severe, and sometimes cruel, yet in their individual relations with them on the farms they were considerate and kindly. This is important, and somewhat reassuring after reading the reports of speeches such as that delivered by Mr. M. W. Pretorius at Aasvogel Kop on March 3, 1860, concerning his treatment of a powerful tribe on the border of the Transvaal.
Nor should it be forgotten in discussing the Boer States in the middle of the last century that, living apart from the rest of the civilized world, they were unaffected by the great Revolutionary movement in France. The teaching of Rousseau and the exertions of Wilberforce had prepared English and European peoples for a change to which the Boers were called upon to adjust themselves very hastily. It is impossible to break with the past; and even if slavery did exist the moral culpability of the Boers had extenuating circumstances. But it does not follow that England was wrong in bringing pressure to bear upon them, for those who cut themselves off from the great world and live apart
The native problem in South Africa is not yet solved, and it is to be feared that the great divergence between the Boer and British points of view will be a stumbling-block in the path that leads to the unity of the two races.
Influenced by the reports of missionaries, and the speeches delivered at Exeter Hall, the English people have shown a tendency to disregard essential differences between the black and the white races, and to assume a measure of equality which, when brought to the test of practical experience, has proved fallacious. The Magna Charta of the Kaffirs, published in 1829, proclaimed that "all Hottentots or other free persons of colour lawfully residing within the limits of Cape Colony, are in the most full and ample manner entitled to all and every right, benefit, and privilege to which any other British subjects are entitled." This enactment does credit to large-hearted sympathy of the British Parliament; but it must not be forgotten that the members were thousands of miles away from South Africa, and had little or no actual experience of Hottentots or Kaffirs.
The Boers had lived among them for centuries, and their opinions were founded not upon sentiment, but experience. The assumption of any measure of equality between themselves and the natives would have been insulting to the last degree, and in practice they would have resisted it at the point of the sword. Sir George Grey went to Natal in 1858, and was advised by some of the British settlers to make the terms of land purchase so difficult that the children of the Boers would be forced into the labour market. He knew
It is impossible that the British people who have spent so many millions on the emancipation of the slaves shall ever tolerate the "virtual slavery" that was undoubtedly practised by the Boers of the outlying districts in the middle of the last century. But it is also clear from the reports of the late Commission of Inquiry into Native Affairs in South Africa that experience and scientific investigation will modify the views of the British people. If, in the past, the Boers have erred on the side of severity, the excessive indulgence of absentee Britishers has led to confusion and failure. The Kaffirs understand power; they do not understand equality. For hundreds of years they have been used to the authority of a despotic chief, and it would appear to be undeniable that they are more law-abiding and contented in those districts where they are ruled by proclamation, than they are under representative institutions.
It is significant that Sir George Grey, with all his devotion to the interests and welfare of the native races, was most cautious in his criticism of the conduct of the Boers; and it is clear from a comparison of his native administration in South Africa and New Zealand that he was becoming more deeply conscious of the difficulties of amalgamation. He
The doctrine of equality has had a powerful influence on the history of the world during the past century; many false and artificial distinctions have been removed, and many others are destined to disappear. But the distinctions between the Kaffirs and Europeans are real, and no solution of the industrial problem can ever be attained by over-looking them. There are many English people in South Africa to-day who maintain that Dr. Livingstone spoilt the natives wherever he went "by giving them swelled head." Those who make the charge leave themselves open to the suspicion that they regard the natives simply as industrial units. But, in any case, it would be unfair to estimate the Boers' treatment of the natives by reference to missionary standards. The missionary is a religious man, prepared for great self-sacrifice, and devoted to the highest interests of the natives among whom he labours. All minor distinctions tend to disappear in the contemplation of the equality of men in the sight of God. But the relation between the Boers and the Kaffirs was industrial rather than religious, and in the business of the world equality is the wildest and most impracticable of dreams. In organized
South Africa is passing through an industrial crisis now, and the conviction is gaining ground that the Boers understood much more about the Kaffirs than they have been given credit for hitherto. Slavery has gone for ever; but it has at least become clear that "able-bodied children" do not attain to anything like true freedom without discipline. And if the Boers proclaimed their superiority over the natives in the most unequivocal language, they have proved it by maintaining the purity of their race, and avoiding that deterioration which has overcome some of the white races in South Africa, who, by identifying themselves with the natives, have sunk to their level.
[Professor Henderson writes from the standpoint of the statesman and historian. The missionary point of view is determined by the Christian doctrine that the status and treatment of men, black or white, is determined not by what they are, but by what they may become,—Ed.]
Settled policy of Her Majesty's Government before Sir George Grey's arrival in South Africa—Recognition of independent and buffer States—The High Commissioner's determined opposition to this policy—His heroic struggle for a united South Africa under the British flag—Successful opposition to Mr. Shepstone's scheme, and to the Boer Separatists in Natal—Beginning of the struggle for Federation in 1856—Petition for inclusion from the Orange River State—The brilliant dispatch of August 1858—Objects to be attained by Federation—The proposed form of the Constitution—Rejection of Sir George Grey's proposals by the Imperial Government—Recall of the High Commissioner—Justification of Sir Bulwer Lytton—Grey's repeated acts of disobedience in South Africa—The settlement of the Anglo-German Legion—Negotiations for the introduction of German families—Opposition to the reduction of the Kaffrarian vote—Reinstatement of Sir George Grey by the Duke of Newcastle on specified conditions.
Deeply as Grey felt about the objectionable clauses in the treaty, and anxious as he was for the suppression of slavery, it must not be imagined that his relations with the Boers were unfriendly. He knew little about the settlers beyond the Vaal, and wrote in contemptuous language about their government, but for the people of the Orange Free State he entertained great respect. He was indeed of the opinion that England had inflicted serious injury upon them by abandoning the sovereignty, and even went so far in his protests to British ministers as to question the legality of depriving subjects of their allegiance without an Act of Parliament. In his opinion the abandonment of the Orange River Sovereignty was a mistake, and he said so
But before the arrival of Sir George Grey in South Africa British ministers had determined to arrest any further extension of Empire by recognizing the existence of independent and "buffer" States, and discouraging any additional acquisitions of native territory. It is the fashion now-a-days to denounce this policy, and regard it as one of the most lamentable among the many instances of Downing Street incapacity. But it is too often forgotten that the policy was adopted out of consideration for the British tax-payer, whose resources were being strained to the uttermost. The "impolicy of Downing Street" is most apparent to those who do not take the trouble to inquire into the actual difficulties with which Imperial ministers were beset. Nevertheless the general experience of the past fifty years, and in particular the effects of Mr. Gladstone's easy benevolence in the eighties, indicate clearly enough that whatever might be urged in mitigation, it is a policy fraught with disaster for South Africa; and a glance at the accompanying map will show that it was one which during Sir George Grey's administration involved the High Commissioner in great difficulties.
Border belts have ever been the scenes of strife and confusion, and when the Basuto wished to remark upon the universality of misery he would say "all countries have their borders." When Sir George Grey went to South Africa there were borders everywhere. In Cape Colony there were
Shortly before his arrival Mr. Shepstone, a man of considerable ability and of great influence among the native tribes on the frontiers of Natal, had been negotiating with the British Government for the removal of 50,000 Zulus into Faku's country, where he was to rule over them as a practically independent prince. The scheme was not without reasons to recommend it. Trained to the use of arms by Tschaka and Dingaan, the Zulus were a formidable race,
This was not the only victory he secured against the separatists in Natal.
It is hardly possible that a more singular and daring petition has ever been presented to the governor of any British province than the one transmitted by the Dutch immigrants of Natal in the early years of Sir George Grey's administration. Having asserted that they were entirely different from the English in religion, language, manners and customs, they declared that they had only become British subjects by force of circumstances. They therefore petitioned for a free and independent government such as had been granted to their friends and relatives north and south of the Vaal. The petition concluded with a warning that, if their request were not granted, "the old fire of exasperation might easily be revived and trouble ensue;"
But Grey was not content merely to arrest the tendency to further disintegration. Just as he strove for a policy of settlement in Kaffraria by which the natives would be more closely associated with the Europeans, so he strove for a closer unity not only for the scattered British possessions, but for all the European settlers in South Africa. The object of his ambition is clearly set down in a dispatch which he wrote at the close of 1856, wherein he advocated "a federal union amongst all these territories in which great individual freedom of action should be left to each province, whilst they would all be united under British rule." What he wanted, in short, was a "united South Africa under the British flag." He therefore wrote asking Her Majesty's Government if they might not be disposed to retrace the step which led to the abandonment of the Orange River Sovereignty. This Mr. Labouchere declined to discuss on the ground that "the policy of recognizing by treaty the formation of independent states on the frontiers of British possessions by emigrant British subjects, and thus raising an effectual barrier to the system of continual and indefinite expansions of the frontiers towards the interior, has now been for some time established."
But Grey was not to be denied. Mr. Labouchere went out of office, and another dispatch in 1857 informed Sir
There were two great practical difficulties which a federal union would do much to overcome: the discontent of the inland provinces in regard to customs duties, and the constant liability to native wars. The revenues derived from duties levied at Capetown, Simons Bay, Port Elizabeth, and East London had been placed under the control of the Cape Legislature for the sole benefit of that Colony. Those levied at the Port of Durban were used exclusively for the benefit of Natal. This gave rise to much jealousy and dissatisfaction in British Kaffraria and the Orange River Sovereignty, where the consumers of goods derived no benefit from the duties imposed. Under a federal system of government it would be possible to devise some scheme whereby the customs duties might be proportionally divided according to the several populations of the territories that really paid them.
The second difficulty was even more pressing. Grey
Other results of the utmost importance to South Africa would follow from the attainment of a position of security: a stimulus would be given to trade, and the resources of the country developed. At the time of Grey's arrival in South Africa the opinion prevailed in some quarters that a Kaffir war was indispensable for the introduction and circulation of capital; that the country was important mainly from its position as a military station; and that a peace policy would be ruinous. In the judgment of the High Commissioner such views were founded entirely in error.
South Africa was, he believed, a great country with commercial possibilities that might be developed to any extent; and so far did he carry conviction among the colonists before the end of his administration, that they were willing to contribute large sums of money in support of a policy whose chief object was the maintenance of peace.
Nor was Grey unmindful of the value of federation in its effects upon the character of the settlers. Under the policy of separation South Africa had become a land of small states, wherein petty and parochial disputes were rife. By means of federation the people would at once be brought into touch with wider questions. Statesmen would arise whose business it would be to deal with questions of policy as broad as the interests they had to consider and provide for; while the increased facilities for education would lead to advancement in arts and civilization by training lawyers, divines, and men with literary tastes. It is easy to recognize in this the anxiety of the founder of Grey College, Bloemfontein, for the cultivation of a wider outlook among the Boers who had spent their lives on the frontiers of civilization.
And, finally, he considered that it was the duty of Great Britain to encourage some such scheme in the interests of humanity. If ever she were forced to retire from South Africa the settlers ought to be left in a condition in which they could provide at least tolerably well for their own safety, and ultimately attain to prosperity and greatness. If this were not done, anarchy and confusion would inevitably be the lot of the people, at least for a time, when left to their own resources.
The scheme which he outlined was one "in which great
But even in the knowledge of all that has happened since, there is something unfair in the vehement denunciations of the "impolicy of Downing Street" so frequently heard in recent years. No doubt in the light of future events Sir George Grey was right in urging his policy; and it may well be that the circumstances were such as to justify its adoption even then. But British ministers did not adhere to their own convictions without reason. The Empire was big enough. They were prepared to maintain the possessions already secured, but in the interests of the British taxpayer no further financial obligations should be undertaken. That was the policy affirmed by the Right Honourable Sir G. Grey in 1855, shortly after Sir George Grey's arrival in the country, and reaffirmed by the Duke of Newcastle in 1861, shortly before the Governor's departure for New Zealand. But there was another reason why Imperial ministers could not accede to the High Commissioner's wish: it would be inconsistent with the dignity of a great Empire to display such vacillation as would be manifested by the resumption of sovereignty in the Orange River territory after having so recently abandoned it. Such arguments are at least worthy of consideration, and especially the former. The Indian
Sir Bulwer Lytton bestowed unstinted praise on the merits of the High Commissioner's dispatch, but informed him that Her Majesty's Government were "not prepared to depart from the settled policy of their predecessors by advising the resumption of British Sovereignty in any shape over the Free State." Meantime matters were proceeding apace in South Africa. Grey had not only encouraged the petitioners from the Orange River State, but had recommended their request to the consideration of the Cape Parliament in his speech before them on March 16, 1859: "You would, in my belief, confer a lasting benefit upon Great Britain, and upon the inhabitants of this country, if you could succeed in devising a federal form of government." After perusing this speech Sir Bulwer Lytton wrote the dispatch announcing the High Commissioner's recall.
Nor was there any other course open to him. It is true that the Imperial authorities had, on Grey's recommendation, revoked the provisional instructions issued to Mr. Shep-stone, and no doubt there was some ground for believing that when the Colonial Secretary asked him for his opinions on Federation, a change of policy was under consideration. But the request was made in a private dispatch and no mention was made of the Orange Free State. Despite all Grey's protestations to the contrary, he was guilty of disobedience in reference to a high act of policy. A study of the dispatches makes this sufficiently clear. In September 1858 Sir Bulwer Lytton reminded him that Her
But this high act of disobedience does not stand alone. It was only the last of a series from which it became clear to Imperial ministers that, where his own policy was in opposition to theirs, Grey was prepared to act in defiance of instructions. Sir Bulwer Lytton mentioned two, but there were more.
For the success of Grey's plan of settlement in British Kaffraria the introduction of settlers in large numbers was necessary, and within six months of his arrival he asked that 1,000 pensioners should be enrolled for agricultural and military work on the frontier. There were so few applications, however, that the matter was dropped. But in March 1856 the Colonial Secretary wrote a confidential dispatch informing the High Commissioner that the Crimean war was drawing to an end, and asking his advice concerning the settlement of an Anglo-German Legion on the frontier districts of Cape Colony. Grey was delighted with the idea, commended "the wise and prudent plan of Her Majesty's
From this time onward Grey argued that he had been the victim of a breach of contract. The men who arrived were, he declared, "the worst characters in the Legion, collected in some of the worst continental sea-ports;" and he pointed out how difficult under these conditions it would be to preserve even a moderate standard of morality and discipline. Time passed, and, when troubles came thick and fast upon him, he acted in such a way as to show that he in his turn considered himself justified in violating the conditions under which they were sent out. One of them stipulated that, if employed against the enemy, they were to receive the regular pay of Her Majesty's troops out of Imperial funds; but if used in aid of the civil power the Colonial Parliament must pay. In order to maintain discipline Grey kept them on active service, and therefore on
As with pay, so was it with the clothing of the troops. In 1858 Grey requisitioned 140 suits and 2,000 pairs of boots, and the bill was sent to the Secretary of State for War. There was nothing in the "conditions" of September 1856 to show that the Imperial authorities contemplated
But the War Office was destined to experience another rebuff still more galling. Lord Panmure had suggested in 1856 that a foreign legion should be sent to India; but the Board of Directors rejected his proposal on the ground that it was injudicious to make use of foreign troops in that dependency. Grey now (1858) decided to get the worst men of the legion off his hands by calling for volunteers for service in India. One thousand and twenty-eight offered, and they were dispatched forthwith, leaving only about one thousand in South Africa. The value of Grey's services in rendering timely assistance on the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny See Chapter XIII.
Another quarrel arose out of the difficulties about the settlement of the Anglo-German Legion which affected more closely the relations between Grey and his immediate superior, the Colonial Secretary. In order to guard against the dangers which he foresaw in the great disproportion of males and females, Grey proposed that the Imperial authorities should send out German families, so that wives might be provided for the soldiers. At first there was some hesitation; but finally Mr. Labouchere decided that if the emigrants were as strenuous as they ought to be, their children would not be old enough to marry; and, further, that when all expenses were paid such an undertaking would involve an outlay of not less than £100,000. He therefore advised the High Commissioner to assist Irish females of good character to emigrate with a few good families. This dispatch was written on June 5, 1857, it reached Capetown in the Tynemouth on July 27, and its
Notwithstanding this he opened negotiations with a Hamburg firm on August 19, and six days later concluded an arrangement with Messrs. Goddefroy and Co. to send out 4,000 Germans, at a cost of £50,000, to be paid for by bonds bearing interest at six per cent, on the security of the Kaffrarian revenues. Now, at this time, the estimated expenditure of British Kaffraria was £60,000, and of this England contributed £40,000. When Lord Stanley heard of the arrangement he lost no time in explaining to Messrs. Goddefroy and Co. the source from which the Kaffrarian revenue was derived, and instructed them to arrest their plans for sending out emigrants to South Africa. On May 20 an agent of the firm crossed to England to explain to Lord Stanley that it was impossible to suspend operations entirely, as much had been done already on the authority of the High Commissioner, and their good name was at stake. Lord Stanley was therefore obliged to allow 1,600 emigrants to embark, and to pay £5,000 to cover the losses incurred by the suspension of the contract in regard to the rest. When the Colonial Secretary's remonstrance reached Grey, he defended himself by saying that at the time of making the arrangement he was not aware that Mr. Labouchere had rejected his proposals. Lord Stanley, referring to the date of his acknowledgment, pointed out that he "must have forgotten." A reference to the dates already quoted will show that his language might have been much more severe.
The other matter referred to by Sir Bulwer Lytton was
Grey pleaded hard. He pointed out that by preventing war in South Africa, the British taxpayer had been relieved of the expenditure of great sums of money; that under his supervision the relations between the native and European races had so improved that he was able, on the outbreak of the Mutiny, almost to denude the country of troops, and dispatch them for service in India. Surely in the face of considerations like these it was wrong to throw his
But he pleaded in vain. It may reasonably be doubted whether some of Grey's schemes in Kaffraria were productive even of a considerable measure of the good which he attributed to them; but taken as a whole they were far in advance of any that had been tried before, not only in their effect upon the native tribes, but also in respect of the development of the resources of the country. It was heartrending to contemplate their abridgment, even though he had made promise of reduction three years before. But
Once more he decided to pursue his own course. The reductions which he was commanded to effect "on the spot" were not made, and in June 1859 Sir Bulwer Lytton wrote enclosing letters from the Treasury Chambers showing that the amounts voted by Parliament for British Kaffraria were exceeded by £46,495! Grey was instructed to do all that he could "to clear up these accounts," as well as to exhibit the objects to which the large surplus expenditure had been devoted. It was precisely at this time that another dispatch was written calling upon him to explain an expenditure of £107,000 over and above the amounts already submitted to Parliament for the settlement of the German military settlers! Truly this proconsul was great, and his superior officers cheerfully admitted it; but, in the face of facts such as these, is there any case against Sir Bulwer Lytton for writing the dispatch announcing his recall? Before he reached England there was a change of ministry, and Grey was reinstated by the Duke of Newcastle; but only on the understanding that his schemes for the federation of South Africa should be abandoned, and that he would render obedience to the instructions issued by the Colonial Office.
Outbreak of the Indian Mutiny—Appeal from Lord Elphinstone to Sir George Grey—Grey's philosophy of Empire—Diversion of British troops from China to Calcutta—His extraordinary activity in defence of the Empire, 1857-58—Generous recognition of his services by Imperial ministers and Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen—The High Commissioner's schemes for the extension of Empire in South Africa—Opposition of the Imperial authorities—Adoption of Sir George Grey's policy after his departure for New Zealand—Splendid public recognition of the value of his services to South Africa.
Grey's insubordination would no doubt have resulted in his recall at a much earlier date had it not been for the splendid services he rendered to the Empire during the progress of the Indian Mutiny.
In July 1857 Lord Elphinstone wrote a dispatch to Sir George Grey informing him that the whole of the Bengal army had mutinied, or had been disarmed lest it should do so; that a "bloody and inconclusive action" had been fought at Delhi on June 23; that Sir John Lawrence was beginning to think he would be obliged to abandon Peshawar and all the country beyond the Indus; and that, in short, the British power in India had never before been so seriously endangered. He therefore urged the High Commissioner to send two infantry regiments to Bombay, and a force of artillery with draught horses and specie to Calcutta.
Grey was an ardent enthusiast for Empire, and he readily responded to an urgent appeal in defence of it. Relying on the good-will and loyalty of the people of Cape Colony, he called for volunteers to do garrison work, took £60,000 out of the Colonial treasury, and shipped it by the Penelope to Calcutta. Captain Travers was sent in charge of fifty of the best draught horses in the Colony; and two regiments of infantry were dispatched without delay, and more were promised. Lord Elphinstone's dispatch was dated July 3; by August 10 Grey had 1,665 men on the way to Calcutta and Bombay!
Situated midway between Great Britain and the East, Grey had already realized the advantages of his position in case of emergency. "The British Empire is so vast, and so unwieldy, that it is all-important that the whole world should see it has not overgrown its strength; but that it possesses quite as much energy and power at its extremities as at its centre; and that if any vital portion of it is seriously endangered, all parts of it can without communicating with the centre simultaneously stir themselves to meet the emergency as if each part were the head and centre of action for the whole body." So Grey wrote on August 7, 1857, in the heat of enthusiasm. The language betrays an attitude of mind which shows how difficult it must have been for his superior officers to work with him; but it also explains why on his own responsibility he decided to interfere with the destination of Imperial troops who were on their way to China. Owing to the irregular procedure of a Chinese official who had insulted the British flag, and declined to apologize, war between England and China was
Then followed a period of acute anxiety. One month after the arrival of Lord Elphinstone's letter Grey received a communication from the Governor-General of India. It contained no appeal for assistance, nor any allusion to the disturbances prevailing in India. Grey was astounded, and no doubt realized for the time being what might happen in the administration of a great Empire wherein each part acted as if it were "the head and centre for the whole body."
The language of his next dispatch to the Colonial Secretary indicates an attitude of mind rarely manifested in his correspondence, official or otherwise. "I apprehend in my anxiety to promote Her Majesty's service, and the security of her Indian possessions, I may have gone too far, and I shall now be cautious what further steps I take until further instructions reach me." He was not kept long on the rack. The dispatch containing this admission was written on September 22; two days later he received a "confidential" from Downing Street authorizing him to take such measures in conjunction with the Indian authorities as were needed for the removal of troops. "It was a great satisfaction to me to receive that dispatch," he replied on the same day; but how much would he have given to recall the one confessing that he "may have gone too far"!
The amount of work performed by Grey at the end of 1857 and throughout the year 1858 is amazing. Every appeal from India was promptly complied with, at a time when the boundary dispute between the Boers and the Basutos was engaging his attention. Without sparing himself he galloped to and fro between Port Elizabeth and the Caledon River. The boundary line was drawn under his personal supervision, and he directed the operations for the departure of troops to India from the south-east. Anxious as he always was to secure peace by having a force strong enough to overcome the natives, he was willing to part with nearly all the effective troops in the Colony provided the Imperial authorities would send him untrained men to make a show of force, and worn-out soldiers to do garrison work. As with troops, so with supplies; every horse was taken from the field batteries, and two hundred of the Cape Corps dismounted in order that their horses might be dispatched to India.
Definite instructions were sent by the Imperial authorities from time to time; but he did not scruple to set them aside where they conflicted with his own opinions after consultation with the authorities in India. He took great liberties with the Cape Parliament, and made full and frank confession of it in the speech. which he delivered at the opening session in March 1858. In their reply the House recorded that he was "fully justified by the extraordinary pressing circumstances under which the responsibility was incurred." The troops which he had directed to Calcutta rendered timely service, and Lord Canning acknowledged the value of the assistance which he had rendered to the
So long as Grey was engaged in a vigorous defence of the Empire he was encouraged by the Imperial authorities, but they would have nothing to do with his schemes for the extension of its boundaries. While in New Zealand he had recommended the assumption of Sovereignty over some of the Pacific islands, and prepared the way for it by the establishment of an educational system for the training of Polynesian children. But though the native chiefs applied to be brought under British jurisdiction, the Imperial authorities declined to take the responsibility. As in Polynesia, so was it in regard to the native districts in South Africa. A few months after Grey's arrival Lord John Russell informed him that it was for no object of dominion that Great Britain wished to maintain possession of British Kaffraria, but merely from a sense of duty to the colonists. It was only a few months before Grey's departure to New Zealand that the Duke of Newcastle replied in a similar vein to his dispatch suggesting a scheme for the control of the Zulus. "I cannot help fearing," he said in May 1861, "that the tendency of your plans would be the extension of frontier,
Grey answered boldly by avowing a conviction on a very difficult subject. It may be with Empires, as it is with individuals, that there is no choice between progress and decline. At least Grey thought so, and declared that it was a sheer impossibility to maintain the status quo. The Kaffirs lived beyond the Kei, and the Zulus beyond the Tugela. He had long cherished a scheme for the settlement of the former district by Europeans, and affirmed that it could be done with the consent of the natives, and for their good. This would have followed as a matter of course had his policy of Federation been accepted. But the Imperial authorities had willed otherwise, and so he advocated the extension of the Kei boundary on grounds of humanity. The natives and the Europeans, he said, were bound to mingle for good or ill; and it was England's duty as the more civilized power to see that it was done for their mutual good. He did not deny that his plans would lead to the extension of Empire; he simply argued that extension was unavoidable, beneficial, and could be carried out with the consent of the native chiefs. But the Duke was obdurate. Imperial ministers were ready, he said, to act in accordance with views of "comprehensive and vigilant humanity" within the Empire; but "if beyond that limit the natives choose to slaughter each other, and Boers or other Europeans choose to assist them, it is not our part to have any recourse to any active interference, nor could we do so with any good result."
But however the Duke and his predecessors might argue, the logic of fact turned out very speedily to be on the
So true is it that during his administration of South Africa the High Commissioner knew his own mind much better than the Imperial authorities knew theirs.
The duties of the High Commissioner were so absorbing that little need be said of the Governor of Cape Colony, whose powers were limited by the existence of representative though not responsible government. The constitution of Cape Colony was anomalous in character, yet the most cordial relations subsisted between the Representative of the Crown and those who administered the affairs of the local government. This was probably due in some measure to the fact that there was so much scope for the exercise of his initiative elsewhere, but in view of later developments it is worthy of notice.
With the people of Cape Colony Grey was exceedingly popular, and they showed their appreciation of his services in a way that leaves no doubt of the estimation in which he was held. In the Botanical Gardens at Capetown, directly opposite the entrance of the South African Library, stands the statue of Sir George Grey which was erected during his lifetime. It is not a work of great artistic merit, but it
Absence of effective control in Maoriland—Wiremu Tamihana’s reforms—Election of a Maori king——Formation of land 1eagues—Ejection of Wiremu Kingi from Waitara in 1859—Suspension of hostilities and appointment of Sir George Grey in 1861—His efforts to secure peace—Scheme for the organization of the native tribes—His attitude toward the Maori King—Hopelessness of the situation owing to a want of trust in the Government-Preparation for war—The tragedy of Omata—The critical event in Sir George Grey's conduct of negotiations—Investigation of evidence concerning the conflict between him and his responsible advisers—The case considered on grounds of law and expediency—]ustification of the Duke of Newcastle.
From the time of Sir George Grey’s departure at the end of his administration in 1853 the Maoris had drifted toward a condition of anarchy which is well described in the Maori King by Mr. Gorst, who had knowledge of them at first hand, for he had served as Resident Magistrate before the outbreak of the war at Awamutu in the heart of the "King country." What he says of the procedure in a native Runanga in 1861 is confirmed by the official reports for that year ; and after carefully reviewing the situation he expressed the opinion that "the only remedy that can ever cure the evils of that distracted Colony is the establishment of some government that can make itself obeyed.”
That also was the opinion of the more enlightened among the Maoris. British institutions having failed to
i.e. William Thompson : there were only sixteen letters in the Maori alphabet.
Side by side with this development of kingship was another movement that ultimately became inseparably associated with it. In the early days, before the proclamation of British Sovereignty and for some time afterwards, the "Pakeha Maori " was regarded as a most valuable possession by the native tribes. He taught them how to carry on trade with white people, by means of which they were able to purchase supplies of tobacco which were essential to happiness, and ammunition and guns which were
During Grey's absence in South Africa the attitude of the Maori toward the settlers underwent a radical change. So long as the Pakehas were comparatively few in number no territorial problem presented itself forcibly to the minds of the Maoris. But it soon became apparent to them that while their numbers were declining, the European population was rapidly increasing, till in 1858 the census returns showed that in both islands there were 56,049 natives, and 59,413 whites! In 1840 many of the chiefs had refused to sign the Treaty of Waitangi, thinking it was merely a trick to deprive them of their country. Others who believed in the treaty began to realize, later on, that the situation was becoming critical, and land leagues were formed with the object of preventing any further alienation.
With this movement also Wiremu Tamihana became identified. In March 1862 the tribes met at Wanganui to discuss matters of policy. The Kingmaker could not go; but wrote them a letter saying, "I have say from Aaron about your determination to hold possession of the land.
That is good. Be strong to hold to your lands. There are three things we must hold to: the Almighty, the King, and the land."
Had the Maoris been united the difficulties of the Imperial Government would have been enormously increased; but the dispute which gave rise to the war in 1860 will serve to show that they were not.
Near the mouth of the Waitara River, a little to the north of New Plymouth, lived two chiefs, Teira and Wiremu Kingi. The former intimated his desire to sell some of his land, but the latter objected. A meeting was held, and three reports of the interview have been preserved. Mr. Parris, the district commissioner, gave one, the natives another, and a third was given by the Reverend Mr. Whitely, who may be considered less directly interested than the others. According to his version, Mr. Parris asked, "Does that piece of land belong to Taylor (Teira)," and Kingi replied, "It belongs to Taylor with all of us; but as he is setting it adrift to sea I shall seize it and drag it ashore again." The land was sold; but Kingi refused to quit. Soldiers were sent to drive him out, and the war began. After some fighting in which neither side gained any real advantage, a truce was arranged by Wiremu Tamihana. But there was no peace, and they were ready to fly at each other's throats, when the announcement was made that Sir George Grey was returning from South Africa to take charge of the administration.
"In calling upon you to proceed to New Zealand they (Imperial ministers) have been mainly influenced by the hope that your intimate knowledge of the Maoris, the reputation
Sir George Grey arrived in New Zealand on September 26, 1861, and assumed the government on October 4. Before a month had passed he wrote a dispatch to the Colonial Secretary which showed that he was in complete accord with the judgment afterwards expressed by Mr. Gorst. "What is really wanted in the Waikato district," he said, "is the establishment of law and order … there is
Subject to the allowance of the Governor, the District Runangas were to have power to erect and maintain schools and hospitals, to decide disputed land questions, and enforce sanitary laws. The education of the natives, secular and religious, was to be carefully attended to, and special efforts made to induce European clergymen of English, Wesleyan, and Roman Catholic churches to go and settle amongst them. "I feel so strongly the benefits which would result from this plan," wrote Grey, "that did it rest with myself I would pay from public funds part of the cost of the
Meantime Grey was using all his personal influence to cultivate the friendship of the chiefs and win them over to his side. He travelled among them, held conferences, and was generally received in a friendly spirit. Nevertheless he became more and more conscious that their sympathies were divided, and some of them were definitely hostile. This was in the highest degree embarrassing, and the Governor was disappointed. "You will point out to them," wrote the Duke of Newcastle, "that it will not be possible for Her Majesty to do them all the good she wishes unless they will receive you in the spirit of openness and good-will," Had Grey been able to reckon on such a spirit his difficulties would have been comparatively slight. But he could not. Many of his old friends among the chiefs were dead; others knew him only by reputation, and there was a lack of confidence which thwarted him at every turn. Time after time the Maoris professed their loyalty to the Queen, and of this Sir William Martin made much in his pamphlet; but as the Duke of Newcastle pointed out, neither Sir William nor the Maoris seemed to realize that submission to the royal authority was unmeaning, unless it included submission at least provisionally to the officer through whom that authority is directed.
In this observation the Duke went to the root of the
Against such a feeling Grey was helpless, and all his plans for reconciliation were misunderstood. The natives not only refused to make use of his courts, but regarded his magistrates as spies, and his schools as seminaries for the education of traitors. As Governor, he was bound to with good deeds till he fall of his own accord." Whether he used the words in italics or not has been questioned, but there can be no doubt that some such phrase was implied. In any case the effect on the Maori mind would have been much the same; for it was at least clear to them that the Governor was opposed to their King. Soon afterwards one of the friendly chiefs, Te Hapuku, wrote a letter warning him to take care lest he should be shot, "because exceeding great has been the anger of the Island toward you on account of your having said that you would dig round it on all sides, and so the King movement would fall of itself." The bullets that laid low Captain Tragett and his followers on the beach near Omata at the outbreak of the war were, it was said, intended originally for the Governor and Sir Duncan Cameron; but there is no proof of this.
After securing the Waikato border the Governor decided to go to New Plymouth in order to settle a long-standing grievance concerning the occupation of two blocks of land.
The English were still in possession of Waitara, from which the Maoris considered that Kingi had been unjustly ejected. To the south of New Plymouth was another block from which the European settlers had been unjustly driven by the Maoris. A big meeting was held at Waikanae, and there the natives decided not to relinquish Tataraimaka till Waitara had been given up. As a result of exhaustive inquiries into documents of various kinds, the Governor had come to the conclusion that while the natives had no real claim to Tataraimaka, their contentions about Waitara were in the main just. He therefore decided to seize the one and abandon the other.
Without making any public declaration to this effect he ordered Lieutenant-General Cameron to march south, and on April 4, 1863, Tataraimaka was recaptured without opposition. Grey was agreeably surprised, and accepted it as an indication of fair weather. "Your Grace will, I am sure, be gratified at the happy turn events appear to be taking." But he was deceived: it was only the lull before the storm. On the morning of May 4, Lieutenant Tragett, Dr. Hope, with two sergeants and four privates of the 57th Regiment, were travelling along the beach in the direction of New Plymouth, when without any warning a party of natives lying in ambush fired upon them. Some were killed, others mortally wounded, and brutally cut about the head with tomahawks. Private Kelly was the only one who was fortunate enough to escape. He made his way toward Tataraimaka, where he told his melancholy tale. Grey had striven hard for peace; but having failed he was determined to strike hard, and "to inflict on those chiefs a punishment
There seems to have been a general consensus of opinion both in the Colonies and in England that Sir George Grey made a grievous mistake of policy in not declaring his intention of abandoning Waitara before he instructed General Cameron to seize Tataraimaka. It was undoubtedly a blunder, but there is no adequate recognition of the difficulties under which the Governor was labouring.
After the introduction of Responsible Government in 1853 the administration of native
That he had made up his mind to do so there can be no manner of doubt. The records preserved among the dispatches at Wellington bear sufficient testimony to the exhaustive nature of his inquiries into the subject; and the "new facts" which he claimed to have discovered did not fail to make some impression on the minds of those who were arrayed against him. Those facts were: that Wiremu Kingi was in occupation when Teira wished to sell the land to Governor Gore Browne, and he had plans to prove it; that according to the report of the interview which appeared in the Taranaki Herald Kingi had given a reason for his opposition to the sale; and, lastly, that the purchase from Teira had never been completed, since he had only received £100. "My settled conviction is," he wrote, "that the natives are in the main right in their allegations regarding the Waitara purchase, and that it ought not to be gone on with. I have given the same opinion to my responsible advisers,"
Incomplete as are the entries in the Memorandum Book there is sufficient to prove that this was so. On April 22 the Governor advised ministers "to proclaim the abandonment of Waitara and also the forfeiture of the £100 to Teira." But they demurred, stating that they had it on the evidence of Mr. Parris that although Kingi may have been in residence at the time, the proprietary rights of the sellers to the greater portion of the block would be found on investigation to be valid. On May I he wrote again, urging his anxiety to settle the Waitara question by abandonment. But his advisers held to their point, and intimated their opinion that the quarrel at Waitara was not
In point of fact that decision had been given, and so far as the claims of justice are concerned it is difficult to see where his ministers were wrong. Part of the land, they affirmed, belonged to Teira: nobody seemed to deny that. Why should he be prevented by Kingi from alienating what was his own? They recommended, therefore, that an inquiry should be held into the extent of Kingi's claims; let that be abandonéd, and the rest might be dealt with at a later time. Even admitting all the discoveries made by Grey, this was in accordance with justice. Nor is it easy to dismiss the second argument advanced by ministers, that the question of "jurisdiction and sovereignty" was involved in Kingi's resistance. He had not only tried to prevent Teira from selling his land, but had also proclaimed that no more land for a distance of forty miles along the coast was to be sold to the Pakeha! The Duke of Newcastle agreed with the Colonial ministers that this was "an interdict of a rebellious character," and in the
If the matter were one for consideration purely on legal grounds there can be little doubt that Colonial ministers were fully justified in their opposition; and, so far, the Duke of Newcastle was in agreement with them. But it was not. The relations between the natives and Europeans were critical and war was impending. Many of the Maoris felt convinced that Kingi had been unfairly dispossessed, and a sense of injustice was rankling in their minds. The Governor wished to abandon Waitara not only as an act of justice, but also because it was politic to do so. "I know," he wrote to the Duke, "that we both stand at the bar of history, when our conduct to the native race of this country will be judged by impartial historians, and that it is our duty to set a good example for all time in such a most important affair." The Duke's reputation suffers no disparagement from a careful and exhaustive inquiry into the most reliable evidence. On grounds of policy Sir George Grey was undoubtedly right; but in making the abandonment of Waitara a question of justice he went too far. This was the Duke of Newcastle's contention at the time. He was quite willing to sanction the abandonment of Waitara as an act of policy, "even though that course goes beyond what I believe strict justice to require." No more equitable observation could have been made on this important and difficult question concerning the renewal of the war in 1863.
The British and Maori forces contrasted—Circumstances advantageous to the Maoris— Maori valour at the siege and capture of Orakau Pah—Failure of the war owing mainly to discord and disunion—Disputes between the Governor and the Premier, Mr. Fox, concerning the prisoners on the hulk Marion and the confiscation of native lands—Quarrel between Sir George Grey and the Lieutenant-General, Sir Duncan Cameron—Assumption of military powers by the Governor—Capture of Wereroa Pah without loss—Examination of the correspondence between Sir George Grey and Sir Duncan Cameron—Resignation and departure of the Lieutenant-General.
The Maori war was a dismal failure. It dragged on its weary course for nearly ten years, and ended with concessions against which the Government had contended. Grey was not altogether deceived. He had striven to avert war by all means consistent with the dignity of the Crown; for he realized the difficulties of carrying on hostilities against the natives in their own country. He informed the Colonial Secretary at the close of 1861 that no brilliant or decisive victory could be looked for, and that the war entered upon would in all probability be a very protracted one. He spoke more truly than he knew, or cared to confess at the close of his administration. Writing to the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos in reply to the dispatch announcing his successor, he begged to be permitted humbly to represent to Her Majesty "that in the year 1861, a rebellion having broken
That New Zealand was a prosperous country in 1867, despite all the fighting, may be conceded; but it was not in a state of tranquillity. The report of Judge Maning has already been quoted, and his statement may be supported by facts. Notwithstanding Grey's capture of Wereroa Pah and the successes achieved by General Chute in the west, the natives were still thirsting for glory and revenge. Soon after the arrival of Governor Bowen disturbances occurred at Patea and Opotiki; and Te Kooti landed at Poverty Bay determined to give no quarter and to ask none. The Colonial Parliament had for a time adopted the self-reliant policy, then wavered and ultimately went back on it; and, after Governor Bowen had called for reports from all parts of the country, he recommended that a garrison of two battalions of the line should be retained in New Zealand in addition to the Colonial force, and that fresh settlements in exposed and dangerous districts should be prohibited.
But if Grey's desire to make a favourable impression constrained him to misrepresent the actual state of affairs, he was not disposed to use ambiguous language about the failure of a war which when measured by the insignificance of the enemy and the results obtained was, he believed, "unparalleled in our history." If this opinion cannot be maintained absolutely, an inquiry into the actual fact proves at least that it cannot be far from the truth. In 1864 General Cameron had under his control 10,000 regular
Disagreeable as is the impression arising from reflection on these facts and figures, the Maoris had certain advantages which ought not to be overlooked. They were in complete possession of the centre of the island, to which in time of stress they could retire, and from which they could make an attack upon the enemy without any warning. It is only necessary to try and cut one's way through a New Zealand scrub now-a-days to appreciate the force of Tamihana's remark that "the forests were their bulwarks." So were the swamps near the Waikato, where the growth of manuka was strong enough to provide efficient cover, and the flax-leaf
It is true that no large force ever confronted the European troops; but that was one of the greatest difficulties with which the European leaders had to contend. Ofttimes after weeks of sapping the soldiers would capture a pah only to find it deserted; and the most serious injuries sustained by the British troops were inflicted by small parties of Maoris lying in ambush, or rushing upon them unawares. The great difficulty was not so much in overcoming as in finding the enemy.
But among their advantages must be reckoned some that reflect great credit on the Maoris. It is now generally conceded that they were skilful engineers, and many of them had a soldier's eye for situation. The pahs were generally constructed so as to make the best use of swamp, hill, or thicket. Mr. Fox has contended that "closely invested, these waterless entrenchments were mere traps; and had we contented ourselves with merely surrounding them, and abstained from throwing away ammunition and lives in vain attempts to storm them, the Maoris must in every case have walked into our lines at the end of forty or fifty hours." The criticism is not without point, and it will not be forgotten that after Ruapekapeka during his first administration Sir George Grey adopted a policy somewhat similar in the valley of the Hutt. But neither will it be forgotten that instead of walking into their lines the Maoris retired to the forests. And so they did in point of fact after
These facts have been used by some writers to throw discredit on the valour of the natives, just as the elusive tactics of the Boers during the late war in South Africa excited some suspicion concerning their reputation for bravery. But there were times when the Maoris, like the Boers, had opportunities of proving themselves, and one of them was the siege and capture of Orakau Pah, which was one of the most interesting episodes of the war, and practically brought the Waikato campaign to a close.
Just at the end of the first quarter of 1864 Brigadier-General Carey heard that the natives were entrenching themselves on a rising piece of ground which was surrounded on three sides by swamp and manuka or tea-tree scrub. Under cover of darkness he marched from Awamatu with 1,000 men, and at dawn on the last day of March had so arranged his troops that Orakau Pah was completely surrounded, and escape seemed impossible. Between the rear of the pah and the swamp two detachments of the 40th Regiment were placed in two lines. Impatient of delay the Brigadier-General
Lieutenant-General Cameron, who had arrived with 1,000 additional troops, decided not to interfere with the Brigadier's plan of operations, but sent a message to the natives calling upon them to surrender. The answer was worthy of the best traditions of the race: "This is the word of the Maori; we will fight for ever, and ever, and ever." A second message was sent, asking them to send the women away. But they declined, saying "the women will fight as well as we." And so they did, for the hospital returns included a large proportion of women from Orakau.
The firing began and the natives were pressed back into the interior of the pah; but there they held their own till pressed by hunger and thirst they were obliged to make their escape through the back of the pah over the two lines of the 40th Regiment; and they reached the swamp without sustaining any serious injury! Major Von Kemp caught them on the other side of the swamp and about 200 were shot down. The bravery of the Maoris may have been exaggerated by some writers; but the history of this war reflects credit on their valour. "Let us not linger on and die of old age, rather let us die as does the shark, fighting to the last." So ran the Maori proverb, and the old fire still burned in the defenders of Orakau Pah. But the failure of the war is not to be accounted for by the skill and bravery of the Maoris, nor by the advantages of their position. The real causes were the defects in the native
It has already been suggested that the antagonism between the Governor and his ministers prevented the former from acting with that dispatch which is desirable and even necessary in a crisis. But this was only one episode in a long struggle which arose out of the system of divided responsibility in the conduct of native affairs. When the Governor recommended that this department should be placed on the same footing as other departments in New Zealand, he believed that his own superior knowledge and personal ascendency over the natives would secure him in the practical control of affairs. But Mr. Fox was Premier, and he was not the man to relinquish authority without a struggle. He and the Governor had been antagonists during the first administration, and, though they were in agreement on some points at the beginning of the war, it soon became apparent that their respective policies were fundamentally different.
Sir George Grey was determined to strike hard so long as the rebels resisted; but he had also made up his mind to deal generously with them in case of submission. The Premier inclined to the belief that severity was, in the long run, the kindest policy; and that the punishments inflicted should be sufficient to deter others, and so bring the war to a speedy close. It is difficult to discuss the differences between them without creating an impression more unfavourable to Mr. Fox than history justifies; and it may be
In Auckland harbour lay the hulk Marion, on which the authorities decided "to place the natives who were captured after the battle of Rangiriri. Mr. Fox was of the opinion that the natives were well cared for, and in good health; but the Governor declared on the authority of the "principal medical officer" that the hulk was "a most unfitting place," and that the condition under which the prisoners lived was driving their friends and acquaintances in the country to a state of desperation. He therefore proposed that they should be released on parole, and tried later by the ordinary courts of justice. This gave rise to a dispute, and Grey ultimately wrote to the Imperial authorities asserting that the honour and dignity of the British Crown were at stake. The Duke of Newcastle replied by instructing him "to act against the advice of his ministers" provided he was satisfied that the prisoners were unjustly treated. Ultimately the Governor had his way, and the natives were placed on the Island of Kawau, after promising to make no effort to escape. But they broke their word, reached the mainland, and became a terror to the neighbouring settlers.
The memoranda on this subject between the Governor and the Premier were many and bitter. In one of them the Governor expressed his conviction that "any captured New Zealand chiefs generously treated would never break conditions as to residence or otherwise into which they had
The dispute about the confiscation of rebel lands during the war excited more interest, and ultimately led to the resignation of the Fox ministry. The Imperial authorities suspected, and the military authorities in the Colony proclaimed, that the war was undertaken to afford an opportunity for the seizure of more land. There can be no doubt that many of the settlers desired greater freedom of purchase than had been permitted under the native department during the administration of Grey's predecessor; and it was under pressure from the Executive Council that Governor Gore Browne had taken the steps which led to war in the first instance.
But it would appear, on investigation, that the settlers have been too readily condemned. The adjoining map shows the distribution of Native and British settlements on the arrival of Sir George Grey in 1862. Considering that the natives made so little use of their lands, and that the populations were nearly equal at this time, it would appear that considerable restraint had been exercised, though mainly no doubt through the influence of leading men like Bishop Selwyn, Chief Justice Martin, and the missionaries of the various denominations. It is impossible to substantiate any general charge of injustice against the colonists in their transactions with the Maoris concerning the transfer of land. In point of fact the Maoris were often more anxious to sell than were the Europeans to buy.
While this may be admitted, it is nevertheless true they look to the acquisition of territory as a means of aiding by its sale in defraying the expenses of the war, and of being devoted to military settlements … he views it as a punishment to deter other natives, and as proportioned to guilt in each case." In reply ministers contended that the Governor's "notion of justice to the Maoris excluded the notion of justice to the Europeans." Through many long and dreary pages of memoranda the controversy continued, till the Governor issued proclamations in accordance with his own views, leaving the people and posterity to judge between him and his responsible advisers. Thereupon the Fox ministry resigned.
Once again Grey knew that he could reckon on the sympathy of Imperial ministers, who regarded themselves as trustees for the Native rights. They were exceedingly anxious that the Colonial government should give the Maoris no just reason to think that their former actions were due to a desire for confiscation of territory, and prior to the outbreak of the war a dispatch on the subject had been transmitted containing a passage carefully worded, but very significant: "England will help all the more readily if she finds the colonial aims not at the subjugation of the Maoris so much as at making them prosperous and contented subjects." When the question of confiscation was referred to the Imperial authorities, Mr. Cardwell silenced all
In his book on the Maori War, Mr. Fox says that "the campaign between Sir George Grey and General Cameron seems to have been by far the most vigorously prosecuted of any which has ever been carried on in New Zealand." Mr. Fox was by no means destitute of a sense of humour, and the omission of any reference to the campaign carried on between himself and the Governor was no doubt due to the fact that he attributes the failure of the war chiefly to the antagonism of other people in authority. In that contention he is probably right, but he uses a two-edged sword, and the thrust cuts almost as deeply into his own reputation as that of others. Yet the quarrel between the Governor and Sir Duncan Cameron was, perhaps, more serious in its effects; for while Grey was hampered by the Premier's opposition, he could ultimately proclaim and enforce his own conviction; but he was dependent upon the Lieutenant-General for putting his instructions into effect, and, when the latter become discontented and defiant, the war dragged on so slowly that the administration was paralyzed. And when the Governor finally determined to assume the actual conduct of operations he undertook risks that brought him into conflict with the authorities in England, and could only be justified by complete success if at all.
When Grey was appointed in 1861 the Imperial authorities invested him with the greatest possible powers. In addition to the authority of Governor-in-Chief he was entrusted with the responsibility of Vice-Admiral and Commander-in-Chief of the forces. He was, therefore, Sir Duncan Cameron's superior officer, and it was Grey himself who denned the limits of their respective authorities in the following words: "The Governor who is Commander-in-Chief is responsible to Her Majesty for the safety and welfare of the Colony. He gives orders for such a distribution of Her Majesty's forces as may appear to him fitted to attain these ends; for the formation and march of detachments and escorts; and generally for such military service as the safety and welfare of this part of the Queen's possessions may appear to him to require. The duty of the General is to regulate the military details regarding the distribution of the forces ordered by the Governor, and the manner in which the detachments shall be formed and composed rests also with the General, who is responsible that all these arrangements are conformable in every respect to the instructions issued by the Governor."
Whether this be an accurate statement of their relative positions or not may be left to military experts to decide; but it is clear even to the amateur, from the course of events, that Grey exceeded his powers in at least one conspicuous instance.
The Waikato campaign had been succeeded by another near Taurango harbour, and in 1865 the Lieutenant-General was instructed to march to the south-west, where, besides carrying on the usual operations, he was to keep open the
There were already serious differences of opinion between the Lieutenant-General and the Colonial ministers. He insisted that the troops should be comfortably housed in winter quarters; they believed it was undesirable in so mild a climate to suspend operations in the winter at all. He declined to allow his soldiers to pursue the enemy far into the interior; they believed it was the only possible way to exhaust the enemy and end the war. Judging by the issue of events it would appear that the ministers were right, though it has not been proved that troops trained with a view to European warfare were fitted for such work. But Sir Duncan's heart was no longer in the war. He marched so slowly, and kept so near the coast, that the Maoris called him in derision "the lame sea-gull."
Ministers not only complained of this; they ventured to criticize his plan of operations. Some miles to the west of the Wanganui River the natives were strongly entrenched at a place called Wereroa Pah. In his march westward Sir Duncan made up his mind to leave this behind him in possession of the rebels. Ministers protested, and the Lieutenant-General replied that if he were to carry out the plan of operations
Wereroa was still in possession of the rebels, and as it was generally regarded as "the centre and focus of disaffection," the Governor determined to attack the place himself.
The pah was situated on a lofty piece of ground at the junction of the Koie and Waitotara streams, which run through valleys between precipitous heights of 300 to 400 feet. It was triangular shaped, and the side representing the base was strongly fortified so as to resist attack. But there was one point of weakness, and Grey detected it. The right bank of Koie stream commanded the greater portion of the pah, and there was a piece of land jutting out above the Waitotara from which the remainder could be attacked.
But his plan of attack carried him further afield. Horei Kerei, the orderly of his staff, had spent his boyhood among
The risks were very great, for Grey had only 473 men all told; but he was not acting without some justification, for Captain Brassey was in sore straits in Pipiriki, and in sending an appeal to Major Rookes added a postscript unintelligible to the natives—"Sumus sine rebus belli sunt." The Governor was anxious to push matters to a crisis at Wereroa in order to set free a portion of his small force for the relief of Captain Brassey. Fortune favoured him from the beginning. Cheers were heard from the heights on Friday, and the Governor knew that the redoubt had been taken. Soon afterwards Captain Ross came down with the good news that 50 natives had been captured. To conduct these down the hill the Governor dispatched 40 friendlies from his already attenuated force. At half-past one on the following morning another message from Major Rookes informed the Governor that the pah had been evacuated. One hour later a note was written to Captain Brassey promising help at
It was an achievement worthy of record, and the Colonial authorities regarded it as a complete refutation of General Cameron's argument for reinforcements. Even Mr. Fox exulted in the victory, and lavished high praises on his old enemy the Governor in order to discredit the General.
But far too much has been made of the incident, for it had but little effect on the progress of the war, and the circumstances had altered very materially since the time at which Sir Duncan had decided to pass it by. Many natives had left Wereroa in the interval, and when the Governor undertook the conduct of operations the rebels inside the pah were divided into two hostile parties. Colonel Weare had even reported that they desired to make terms and capitulate, and it was in the knowledge of this that the Governor opened negotiations with the rebels shortly before planning his attack. Moreover Sir Duncan had given another reason for postponing the attack on Wereroa which, if insufficient, ought not to be disregarded. Nukumaru was only a few miles distant, and, after seizing that, he believed the natives in Wereroa would be seriously hampered in making any attack from a base so isolated, and might even be forced to abandon it.
The essential injustice of the attempt to discredit Sir Duncan is most apparent, however, on a careful examination of the correspondence that took place between him and the Governor. After the Lieutenant-General had given his reasons for postponing the attack on Wereroa he became
But if Sir Duncan had suffered disparagement more than he deserves in this case, there is little to say in his defence when considering the charges which he made against the Governor and his responsible advisers. Sir Duncan proved that he was a gallant officer by his heroic conduct on the ridge at Koheroa, The incident is worthy of record. Quite unexpectedly they came upon the enemy, and at 70 yards received a heavy lire from their rifle-pits. The ridge was narrow and the check threw the soldiers into confusion. There was nothing left but to rush the pits, and the General ordered a charge to which the men failed to respond. Cap in hand Sir Duncan jumped to the front, and moved rapidly to within 20 yards of the rifle-pits before he was overtaken. The Maoris were dislodged by the soldiers owing to the personal heroism and example of the leader at a critical moment.
Sir Duncan Cameron's charges against the Governor and his ministers were all founded in error. The origin of the war has already been discussed at length; but to accuse Sir George Grey of participation in such "iniquitous job" as the unlawful seizure of native lands was absurd; to say that he and his ministers cared little how many lives were sacrificed so long as their policy was carried out was so palpably unjust that he deserved the rebuke which Grey was able to administer when he took Wereroa Pah without a single casualty on the British side. That blow struck home, for on his way to England Sir Duncan could not refrain from publishing articles in Australasian newspapers denouncing the Governor-in-Chief of New Zealand. It remains to his credit, however, that, realizing
Sir George Grey's high-handed acts of disobedience—Instructions for the removal of troops not complied with—Unauthorized drafts on Imperial funds continued—Embarrassment of Imperial ministers—Charges against the Governor and his ministers made by Colonel H. E. Weare—Grey commanded to institute a serious inquiry—He "absolutely and solemnly" declined to do so, and "reprimanded" his superior officer—End of Sir George Grey's career as an Imperial officer—Observations on the extraordinary difficulties of the Governor's position—Vacillation of the Colonial Parliament—Justification of Imperial ministers.
Whatever impression Grey had made on the colonists by his capture of Wereroa the Imperial authorities were not dazzled or even favourably impressed by it. General Cameron had complained that the Governor's conduct was subversive of all discipline in the army, and Mr. Cardwell promised to address him later "on the propriety of assuming so large a share in the personal direction of the military operations in the presence of the regular forces and of their officers." The matter was brought under investigation, when Grey asked that there should be full inquiry into the reproof administered by the Lieutenant-General to Colonel Weare for holding communication directly with the Governor. His Royal Highness the
From the time of his quarrel with the Lieutenant-General, Grey began to lose control over himself, and to incur the displeasure of the Imperial ministers. The strain of opposition had already begun to tell on his temper and his spirits, and a feeling of personal bitterness impaired his better judgment. This must have been apparent to the Colonial Secretary, for it may easily be detected in the Governor's dispatches. General Chute succeeded Sir Duncan Cameron, and shortly after his arrival achieved a series of successes on the Western Coast. He was described by the Governor as a great general, "whether in ability in conceiving plans, in energy in carrying them out, or in that power of command which inspired those under him with an energy and determination equal to his own." Then with a side thrust which does him no credit, he added that General Chute's success was "without precedent in New Zealand."
But, if his eulogy was inspired by a lingering desire to discredit Sir Duncan, Nemesis followed swiftly. The military head-quarters were at Auckland, and Grey wanted them to be fixed at Wellington, which was the seat of government. Against this General Chute protested, and his reason becomes apparent after perusing his dispatches to the Secretary of State for War. "I need not invite attention," he wrote, "to its being against all the dictates of common sense, military precedence, and prudence that two forces acting under different heads should at the same time undertake the same services acting in the same locality." The Governor took a high tone: "I shall now require en voyage and had temporarily disembarked at Wellington. It was a severe stroke, and Grey was stung to the quick; but matters had reached such a pass that no other course was possible if the orders of the Imperial Government were to be obeyed.
As early as December 1864 the Imperial Government had resolved to effect a considerable reduction in the number of troops in New Zealand, and in the early part of 1865 Sir Duncan Cameron was instructed to embark five regiments without delay. This he proceeded to do, but the Governor formally protested as Her Majesty's representative "on the ground of public danger." The General had no alternative but to suspend operations, and inform His Excellency that the sole responsibility for their detention rested with him. Shortly afterwards Sir Duncan left the Colony and General Chute arrived under similar instructions. But he too was unable to put them into effect.
In the first quarter of 1866 he begged most urgently to be allowed to concentrate the troops in the larger towns such as Wanganui, New Plymouth, and Auckland, and also, if the £50,000 per annum should be voted for native purposes. Grey complained bitterly of the disgrace to which he had been subjected, but without just cause. As early as February 1865 instructions for the removal of five regiments had reached New Zealand; at the close of 1866 those instructions had not been carried into effect!
Nor was this the only difficulty. At the beginning of the war the Colonial government paid for Imperial troops at the rate of £5 per head. The Secretary of State for War prepared his estimates for 1865 on the understanding that only a small portion of the force would be retained in New Zealand, and that the Colonial government would pay for that at the rate of £40 per head. But Grey continued to make drafts on the military chest, and in the beginning of 1866 Mr. Cardwell complained that he was doing at the Antipodes what no one has any authority to do at home or abroad—drawing money out of the public
Colonel H. E. Weare, who was serving under General Chute at Patea, wrote a private letter to his brother in England denouncing the Governor, General Chute, and Colonial ministers generally for their cruel conduct toward the natives. Some were shot in cold blood in order to avoid the expense of maintaining prisoners, others were roasted alive, and in one case, after a Maori's ears had been cut off, they were returned to him dried, and he was instructed to wear them on his watch-chain! "Since the leaving of Sir Duncan," wrote the Colonel, "the true sentiments of the Governor and his government have come out toward the Maoris in their urging General Chute on to all these atrocities of killing and no prisoners." This letter was forwarded to the Secretary of State for War, and finally reached Mr. Cardwell, who decided to call for an inquiry.
Whether Mr. Cardwell was or was not justified in
This is the language of reason and conciliation. But Grey was in no conciliatory mood. He declined to treat Mr. Cardwell's dispatch as confidential, and after having laid it before his ministers entered a minute on the proceedings of the Executive Council denying every charge "absolutely and solemnly," and concluding with a sentence of uncompromising defiance. A copy of this minute was transmitted to the Colonial Secretary, and also a covering letter in which the Queen's representative in the Colony informed the minister from whom he received the Queen's commands that "with all due respect for your office, I must maintain my own, and I decline to answer or in any way notice the charges against myself."
Grey's indignation had been aroused not merely by the nature of the charges, but also by what he considered a violation of the rules of the Civil Service which required that charges made against the Governor by any one within the Colony should be transmitted through him. On this ground also he had objected to the charges made by Sir Duncan Cameron to the War Office, and had seized the opportunity to administer a rebuke to the Secretary of State for War, classifying him with Sir Duncan as a "wrongdoer." By this time he had come to the conclusion that a conspiracy was afoot to discredit him by means of indirect correspondence with the Imperial authorities, and he boldly "reprimanded" his superior officer for receiving complaints against his government that had not been transmitted through him. Grey's conduct throughout the correspondence on Colonel Weare's charges was not only defiant, but disrespectful.
It is not unnatural that he should have been pained by instructions to conduct an inquiry into charges that were so utterly at variance with his life-long solicitude for the welfare of the natives. But there was a better way of maintaining his dignity than the one he chose to follow. He knew that the charges were utterly and entirely false. Had he obeyed instructions and conducted the inquiry in a calm, dispassionate spirit the result would not only have been to discredit and humiliate his opponents, but to allay anxiety in the minds of the British people.
In point of fact there was investigation. Colonel Weare was called upon by the Secretary of State for War to "substantiate or withdraw," and he replied by expressing his
Earl Carnarvon, who had succeeded Mr. Cardwell, recognized this; and in a temperate and cautiously worded dispatch reviewed the situation in a manner that the Governor was not likely to misunderstand. "I will add no more now," he concluded; "I hope that a cooler consideration of this painful question will have convinced you of the impropriety of the language which you have used, and will lead you to take what appears to me to be the course which is due not less to yourself than to others, viz. that of recalling both your minute and your dispatch of the 30th. In this hope I now refrain from considering what would be the duty of Her Majesty's Government should you unfortunately come to a different conclusion." Grey fully understood the import of these words; but refrained from acting on their suggestion. Shortly afterwards the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos announced his successor; and
Sir George Grey arrived in New Zealand at a time when the limits of Imperial and Colonial authority had yet to be defined. The old order was changing, yielding place to the new, and the transition was marked as usual by many a painful struggle. In the Memorandum Book Grey has recorded that "his health and spirits were impaired by the ungenerous and unbecoming treatment which he conceives he has received from ministers at a time when he had such great and serious difficulties to meet." There were no doubt two sides to this, and a greater man would have been less sensitive to personal injury. But he also suffered severely from the vacillation of the Colonial Parliament. Mr. Fox, in his book on the war, complains bitterly of the lack of generosity shown by the Imperial authorities; but this must be added to the great number of unreliable criticisms to which that author commits himself. In the beginning of the war England displayed a generosity that admits of no question whatever, and Imperial authorities only began to restrain themselves when they found "no sufficient sense of the duty of the colonists to protect themselves, or to submit to necessary sacrifices when their lives and property were at stake." This criticism was justified by facts. The troops for which the colonists were paying only £5 a head were costing the British Government half-a-million a year, and so much were the Colonial authorities disposed to rely upon Imperial blood and treasure that, while hostilities were impending in 1862, the training of the militia by local ordinance was dispensed with! No doubt the colonists realized a fuller sense of their responsibilities before the end of the war, but that was only after Imperial ministers had
It was natural that Mr. Fox should make the most of the burdens borne by the colonists, but his condemnation of the Imperial authorities finds no justification in fact. Much more to the point was the opinion expressed by the Duke of Newcastle in a private letter to Sir George Grey. "What the colonists are aiming at," he said, "is this—that they through their responsible government shall in fact administer affairs, leaving with the Home Government such a shadow of responsibility as shall support a claim to have the wars which their policy has caused carried on at Imperial expense." There may be some exaggeration in attributing to their policy the cause of the war; but it is only necessary to refer to the conduct of Parliament on two important questions to realize not only the substantial justice of the Duke's observation, but also the difficulties in which the Governor was involved by reason of the vacillating policy of the Colonial government.
In 1861 Colonial ministers transmitted a dispatch to the Imperial authorities contending that the Native Secretary department, free as it was from all control on the part of responsible ministers, was a very serious evil. The recommendation which the Governor sent immediately after his arrival has already been explained; but the Colonial Secretary reserved his decision until he should be in receipt of more definite information concerning the views of Colonial ministers on the question of the amount of financial responsibility that should accompany control. Thereupon the Colonial Parliament suddenly became aware that the
There is no doubt that immediately after the capture of Wereroa Pah Grey had been in favour of the policy of Mr. Weld, and even went so far as to correct a passage in one of Mr. Cardwell's dispatches stating that it was he and not his ministers who had expressed the conviction that "nothing is more to be desired than that the Colony should rely as much as possible on its own resources, energy, and courage." Whether he really altered his opinion, or simply made up his mind to throw in his lot with the Colonial government in the hope of squeezing as much as possible out of the Imperial Government, cannot be determined. But in any case he had the best of reasons for believing that in abandoning the self-reliant policy he was placing himself in direct antagonism to the wishes of the Imperial Government. "It is clearly to be understood," wrote Mr. Cardwell at the end of 1865, "that no change in the New Zealand ministry will alter the views of the Imperial Government in respect of the policy embodied in the Resolutions of the General Assembly in December 1864." There can be no doubt that in taking this stand the Imperial authorities were fully justified, for instances are not wanting to prove that the colonists were all too readily inclined to impose on England's generosity.
In 1849 there was an earthquake in Wellington which destroyed £50,000 of property, and the inhabitants sent a petition through Earl Grey praying that the British Parliament might make good their losses. Before the institution of £434,360, andin 1862 there were 5,500 Imperial troops in New Zealand, involving an expenditure of £35,000 per year. On the renewal of the war in 1863 the forces were raised to 10,000 and the burden of the British taxpayer increased proportionally. On their part the colonists were expected to contribute £5 a head for Imperial troops, and to bear the expense of maintaining the local militia. They did not contribute a penny to the Imperial treasury directly; they were not obliged to carry their goods to English markets; nor were they compelled to give any preference to English manufactures. All the advantages derived from trade and immigration were mutual.
Yet the colonists complained loudly of the burdens imposed upon them, and in the interval during the suspension of hostilities withdrew the local ordinance for the training of the militia!
Realizing that the time had come to emphasize the duties of self-government, the Duke of Newcastle wrote a dispatch expressing in the clearest language his view of the situation and the decision of Her Majesty's Government respecting Imperial and Colonial responsibility. Angry protests were made by the Colonial Parliament and the cry of "ruin" was raised; but the Colonial Secretary was firm, and his successor, Mr. Cardwell, declined to yield. There were not more than 2,000 rebels in the field, and there were 2,500 military settlers armed and organized in New Zealand. That was a force sufficient for defensive purposes, and henceforth £40 a head.
It was absolutely essential for the colonists to make greater sacrifices henceforth; and they did; for at the end of Sir George Grey's administration the debt of the Colony amounted to £6 5s. od. per head of the population. But they were far from "ruin," as a comparison of figures for 1858 and 1867 may serve to show:—
Situated as he was between the Imperial and Colonial ministers—bound to carry out the instructions of the former, and consult the advice of the latter—the Governor occupied a most unenviable position. The colonists were jealous of the rights of self-government, but they were unable or unwilling to bear those burdens which are rightly associated with the acquisition of political freedom. The opportunity came for the full attainment of constitutional government by the adoption of the self-reliant policy in 1865; but the Colonial Parliament wavered, and drew back. In strict justice Grey should have stood by the Imperial authorities, and forced the colonists either to rise to the emergency or acknowledge their insufficiency. He chose instead to ally himself with the Colonial ministry, defy instructions from home, and render the Queen's Government ineffective in
Sir George Grey enters political life in New Zealand—Unsuccessful struggle for the maintenance of Provincial Parliaments—The Duke of Newcastle's criticism of the Constitution of 1853—Foundation of the Radical or Progressive Policy in New Zealand— Sir George Grey Premier, 1877-79—Measures intended to establish a new order of things—Land taxation, and compulsory purchase of big estates—Adult franchise and elective governors—Education of the masses—Unconstitutional conduct of the Premier— His deposition in 1879—Sir George Grey's policy not inconsistent with, but a fulfilment of, his life's work—Continuity of the policy under Mr. Seddon.
After a short period of retirement at Kawau Sir George Grey left for England, where in 1870 he sought election to the British Parliament by offering himself as a candidate for Newark. But his programme startled the Liberals, and he was obliged to withdraw. He returned to New Zealand and spent three years of cultured ease on the Island of Kawau, far removed from the busy hum of the world's affairs, happy in the companionship of books, and ministering to the cravings of his better nature by investing the surroundings of his retreat with interests congenial to his æsthetic and scientific tastes.
By the expenditure of large sums of money and the application of years of thought he made a home that was worthy of a better fate than the one which has overtaken it. Kawau has associations that are comparable to Groot Schuur. It is true that provision was made for the maintenance of £5,000 and Mr. Rhodes left many millions. It is painful to visit Kawau in New Zealand after rambling through the parks at Rondebosch in South Africa, and the contrast is not at all creditable to the people of New Zealand, much less to that government which has been in power for the past thirteen years, and whose policy was founded by Sir George Grey during the period when he held the office of Prime Minister from 1877-79.
Grey entered political life in order to fight against the abolition of the Provincial Legislatures, which was part of the policy of Sir Julius Vogel.
In outlining the Constitution at the request of Earl Grey in 1851 he had assumed that the organization of the provinces should be a part, "and perhaps the most important part of the Constitution." To this conclusion he had been driven by a careful consideration of facts geographical and commercial. In the centre of the North Island was a range of mountains rising to the height of 10,000 feet, throwing off spurs in various directions, and making the country difficult of access. The Maori and European populations were settled for the most part round the harbours, and on fertile plains in the Valleys of the Thames, Waikato, Wanganui and Rangitikei Rivers. Communication between them was difficult. And the same was true of the South Island, where if geographical divisions were not so formidable, differences were well marked owing to the social and political principles on which the settlements were founded.
Not less striking was the distinction in matters of trade. There were six important settlements in both islands, and
His opinion had not altered in the interval between 1851 and 1874. The New Zealand Constitution had been modelled on the British; but Grey had a distinct bias in favour or the federal form of government, because it afforded more opportunity for the expression of local feeling. He was deeply attached to the principle of local self-government: "One trembled almost with anxiety," he said, "in thinking what great things could be done with such a movement." It occupied an important place in all his constitutional schemes, and his plans for the government of Ireland included four local parliaments. Under the influence of such convictions he appeared on the hustings in New Zealand; was elected superintendent for the Province of Auckland, and shortly afterwards became a member of the House of Representatives.
But despite his ardour and the almost magical effect of his
His mind was by that time engrossed in other questions of supreme importance, which on his own confession involved Mr. Seddon died in the middle of primus inter pares. His opponents returned to power and controlled the government till 1890. Mr. Seddon then entered on his long tenure of office, and for the past thirteen years the policy of the New Zealand government has been essentially the same as that which was founded by Sir George Grey in 1877.
Before setting out on his expedition to Western Australia, Grey had served as a military officer in Ireland, and the condition of the peasants had made an indelible impression on his mind. He believed that their miseries were due mainly to the iniquitous land laws by which they were victimized. His feelings as well as his convictions were expressed in an article which he published on the Irish question. During Elizabeth's reign 40,000 acres of land in Ireland had been granted to the Earl of Essex, and this was only one of many monopolies authorized up to the end of the reign of Charles II. The result was that two-thirds of the country was occupied by 1,800 people, and the ill-clad Irish peasant was obliged to pay a rent of £10 an acre. That kept him in a state of extreme poverty without hope for the future, and made him the victim of
Later on in New Zealand, when reviewing the state of affairs in other parts of the United Kingdom, he declared that in Scotland twelve landowners were in possession of one-fourth of the country, and in England one-sixth of the land was held by 280 persons, while in the whole of the United Kingdom two-thirds of the land was held by 12,469 persons. Such a state of things was fundamentally at variance with one of his most cherished convictions. "I abhor the land laws under which such things can be brought about," he declared, "and think we should neglect no means within our power to get them altered in the Mother-country; and then we should also neglect no means at our disposal to prevent laws and regulations being established in New Zealand which ultimately bring about a similar state of things in this country." With this intent he had fought against the great landowners in New Zealand during his first administration, but he had not prevented monopoly. Great estates had been formed, and at the time of his accession to political power, 18 million acres were in the possession of 1,500 people.
The object of his land legislation was, and always had been, to safeguard the interests of the general community and settle the small farmer on the land. Using the argument of John Stuart Mill, he pointed out that railways are made, roads constructed, harbours improved, immigrants paid for and police maintained, courts of justice erected, and numberless other duties performed by the whole people. It was clear to his mind, therefore, that "the whole people
There must therefore be a land tax, imposed in such a way that the interests of the small holder should be safeguarded "The bill first of all says that we ensure to every living being in New Zealand who can get a small home that he shall not be required to pay any tax on that small home." As to the larger holdings, a clear distinction was to be made between the "increment" that was due to individual effort and that which was imparted by progress in settlement. The substance of his proposal was therefore: "Find the total value of the land with improvements, and the value of improvements alone; deduct the value of improvements from the total, and tax the residue only." Grey believed that the unimproved value of land in New Zealand was £15,153,630, and on this he proposed to levy a tax of one half-penny in the pound on the capital value of that portion which exceeded £500 in possession of one owner. Such a tax would, he believed, protect the bona fide settler, restrain the speculator, and secure for the State a portion of that which was due to the combined efforts of all the people.
But he was prepared to go further, and deny the right of any individual to retain possession of vast tracts of country bona fide settlers and small farmers. In this matter success was only delayed for a season. Compulsory purchase is now in operation in New Zealand, and, whatever may be urged in defence of the rights of property, it is only another application of the principle that considerations of general utility are paramount over the claims of priority of occupation. So civilized nations have argued against native races; so democracy argues against great landowners.
It is probable enough that in his land legislation Grey underrated what was due to the man who encountered risks and endured privations in the early days of settlement in New Zealand. He may, too, have undervalued management and individual enterprise in the attainment of prosperity. Again, in advocating his land tax, he may have overlooked the importance of other forms of taxation, and especially a property tax. But, after all reservations have been made, it remains true that closer settlement has succeeded in New Zealand, and that the principle is gaining ground in Australia, where, generally speaking, the conditions are less favourable for its application.
Grey was more immediately successful in his struggle for the attainment of manhood suffrage. Under the system which prevailed in New Zealand at the time of his accession to political power citizens were qualified for exercising the franchise by residence and by freehold. While, therefore, every male adult of respectable character had one vote, those who held property in different parts of the country had many.
Grey contended that the time had come for the adoption of one man one vote, and one only. In 1851 he had argued forcefully that the franchise should be extended to the poorer classes in New Zealand. There was certainly no inconsistency in his arguments for a further extension, nor in his contentions at a later time in favour of adult suffrage, which is now generally accepted in Australia and in New Zealand.
Grey was not unmindful of the dangers to which any country is exposed where power is entrusted to the ignorant and inexperienced. But he was willing to take the risks, and trust to education as a safeguard in the future. "In my lifetime," he said, "many plans have been discussed for the representation of minorities by John Stuart Mill and others. These rested on the supposition that the masses of electors were too ignorant to form just judgments, and that it was therefore necessary to provide bulwarks against a supposed dishonest and ignorant majority. We now seek a remedy against such an opinion, even then partially erroneous, by giving a thorough education to all." Grey was too earnest a student of political matters not to realize that there was a flaw in the argument against government by the masses. He knew well enough they could merely control, not govern; and he was of the opinion that ten thousand people might be as safely entrusted with the power of selecting the best administrators as ten hundred. He also realized that if democratic governments were imperfect, oligarchies had not been uniformly successful in this world's history. Masses are unable to administrate; but it does not follow that they are unable to choose individuals who can.
And at least, by investing the people with political rights
Hence his anxiety for the development of a "higher" as well as a utilitarian system of education. The greatness of Britain he maintained was due not only to the number of universities in the United Kingdom; but also to their diversity. Anxious as he was to save the colonists from many of the traditional evils of European countries, he considered that they should follow England and Scotland in this. Instead of having one university in New Zealand there ought to be four: one might excel in Mathematics, another in Classics, a third in Divinity, and a fourth in some other branch of higher education; the object being to offer facilities to students of various tastes and capacities. Here again his wish has been practically fulfilled. There are centres for university teaching in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin; and the High School at Wanganui, with whose foundation he was so closely associated, is perhaps the most successful of its kind in the Colony.
It was also because of his desire to encourage talent that Grey wished to entrust the people with the power of electing their Governors. This was one of his political measures, and because of his well-known enthusiasm for Empire it has been made the basis of another charge of inconsistency. On the contrary, it was simply a logical development of his views and actions. When Lieutenant-Governors were dispensed with on the introduction of Responsible Government in New Zealand, Grey contended that the Superintendents of Provinces should be elected by the people. Earl Grey declined to accept his proposal in 1852, but Sir John Pakington, who succeeded him at the Colonial Office, adopted
There is no inconsistency in the policy advocated by Sir George Grey when he was Premier of New Zealand; but while maintaining this, it must be admitted that his personal conduct was reprehensible. He allowed himself to be swayed by an unworthy desire to vent his spleen on the Colonial Office for their determination to leave him severely alone after 1868; and his conduct toward the Marquis of Normanby and his lady was unworthy of his position. During the first "memorandummiad" in New Zealand Sir George Grey was Governor and Mr. Fox was Premier. At that time the Governor complained that his health and spirits had been impaired by the unbecoming treatment he had received from his ministers. During the second "memorandummiad" Sir George Grey was Premier and the Marquis of Normanby
Such language might be regarded as a childish outburst of passion, showing that the old spirit of defiance still raged fiercely within. But he did not stop there. "There can be no doubt," he declared, "that the Home Government have rewarded men for their services in opposing the present government. They have done it directly, and they have done it indirectly!" To such depths of unworthy suspicion could this lofty nature sink under the strain of opposition! And deeper—"We have left England. Do you keep yourselves at home. … Do not interfere in our affairs. Keep your rank; keep your wealth. Do not send us out men who care nothing for us, with high titles, to make great fortunes out of us!"
As with the Governor and the Colonial Office so was it with Grey's colleagues in Parliament. "The great difficulty in arguing with the honourable member," said Major Atkinson, "is that he assumes that he alone is doing his duty and that his opponents are influenced in their action by other motives than those of the public weal." That criticism was not only just but kind. Grey was totally unfitted both by nature and training for playing an important part in Constitutional government. It is now generally conceded that in
But it is necessary to distinguish carefully between his personal conduct and the policy which he founded during the period of his administration. Granted that some of his public utterances were inspired by vindictive feeling; there is nothing inconsistent in the measures which he advocated in the public interest. On the contrary, they were a fulfilment of the policy for which he strove under varying conditions for nearly half-a-century. Moreover the history of recent years has justified him in many of his contentions. Hardly had he retired from political life when Mr. Seddon came to power. The policy of his government is essentially the same as that of his "friend and chief," Sir George Grey. New Zealand is now one of the most prosperous countries in the world. There are not wanting some who maintain that it is so despite the legislation of the past thirteen years; but at least the presumption is in favour of those who argue the other way.
Sir George Grey's unexpected visit to England in 1894—Expression of his views on Imperial and Political questions—His attachment to the Federal System of government— His lasting belief in education, and the possibilities of human nature—Avowal of his life-long determination "to keep the Old World out of the New"—His dislike of the armed camps and dynastic quarrels of Europe—His arguments in favour of Imperial Federation—Dream of an Anglo-Saxon unity—Tranquil, happy close of a stormy career— Burial in St. Paul's.
One bright morning in 1894, when the weight of years had bent his erect figure, the old man of eighty-two announced to his friends at St. Stephen's Avenue, Auckland, that he intended to take a trip across the island for the benefit of his health, and that he desired to go alone! This was somewhat disconcerting. Much more so was the telegram from Wellington a few days later stating that he had booked his passage in a New Zealand liner, and intended to proceed to England. The news was flashed across the world, and on his arrival at Plymouth there were many friends and admirers waiting to do honour to the Grand Old Man of the Southern Hemisphere. Fifty-seven years before, only a few days after the accession of Queen Victoria, he had left that port on his Imperial mission to the South. For more than half-a-century he had been engaged in Empire-building, and throughout that time had retained the good-will of his Sovereign, even when the breach between him and Her Majesty's ministers had become absolute. Her Majesty was still presiding over the destinies of a
The atmosphere of political England was much more congenial than Grey had found it hitherto. Since 1868 the Colonial Office had left him severely alone, and though he earnestly desired it, and had even asked for it, no position had been offered him. He was too old for office now or the past might have been forgotten, for the Imperial mind of England had changed greatly since the administration of the Earl of Beaconsfield. In the seventies there had been much talk of casting off the Colonies. In the nineties, under the direction of Mr. Chamberlain and the Earl of Rosebery, men of both parties were beginning to realize that the great problem of the twentieth century would be the unity of the British Empire. And who better qualified to express an opinion upon that than the man who had spent the best years of his life in laying the foundations of Empire in Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand?
Sir George had returned to England intending only to pay a visit and go back to New Zealand. Rewi, the great fighting Chief of Maniapoto, had asked that their bones might be laid in the same grave, and there was good reason why Sir George Grey should be laid to rest in the land where he had been twice a governor and once a premier. But it was not to be. He had reached the age when life's meaning becomes clear by reflection on the past. Strong forces had been working in and through him; and the time had come when, lifted above the strife, he could pause and ask whither these forces had been tending. Work there
And England wished to know. Her statesmen honoured him, and reporters waited upon him to place before the world such thoughts as might be helpful in the solution of the great problem of Imperial Federation with which they were confronted.
Sir George Grey was profoundly interested in Federation, and it will be clear at this stage that he preferred that form of government to any other. "In local decentralization," he said, "coupled with general centralization, there is the secret of future stability and vitality." Political antagonists in New Zealand could not understand how a man of autocratic temper could be the champion of liberal institutions. Here is the explanation. He was convinced beyond all doubt that every Colony should be allowed to contrive for itself. Therein lay the mainspring of its vitality. He realized this before he left Ireland, and notwithstanding his autocratic temper he worked honestly and assiduously toward self-government in every Colony whose affairs he administered. For this reason, too, he preferred the Federal to the British form of government, "Decentralization," he declared, "was the essence of Federation."
And decentralization was essential to the maintenance and development of the British Empire. The war of American Independence had proved once for all that British colonists would rather sacrifice their lives than surrender the right to
For education was indispensable to the maintenance of vitality, and in Grey's opinion "the highest education in earthly matters that can be given to man is that education which trains him to consider his duties, position, and rights as a citizen of a corporate community." Without self-government such an education was impossible; and in England as in New Zealand he stoutly maintained that every office in the country, including that of Governor or Governor-General, should be open to its citizens as a reward for merit. He had found men of the poorer classes in the Colonies discharging duties which were performed only by the middle and upper classes in England; and because they discharged them so efficiently, he saw no adequate reason why they should not be entrusted with higher, and even the highest, responsibilities.
Grey's faith in the possibilities of human nature was unbounded. Granted the opportunities, individuals would
But there was another reason why Sir George Grey insisted on the rights of the colonists to contrive for themselves.
The conditions of the New World were vastly different from those of Europe, and he would have them remain so. He had little respect for the dynastic quarrels and obsolete policies of European countries, and he regarded their armed camps with suspicion and dread. The Old World could not break with its past, but the New World was not to be a dumping ground for the unfortunate traditions of Europe. For this reason he strove to keep the Germans and the French out of the Pacific in order that there might be no rival to British authority, and no excuse for reviving European jealousies and feuds.
It may be contended that Sir George Grey was only able to keep the Old World out of the New because Britain was armed to the teeth. Nevertheless there was much wisdom in his contention, and his policy has not been without effect. Nothing impresses the Australian, on his first visit to England, more than the change of political atmosphere. In the Colonies he has been concerned with the development of his own country, and his interests are centred in domestic legislation. The necessity for maintaining peace by being-prepared for war startles him. The "bellum omnium contra omnes" is a theory with which the study of the See an article by Mr. Andrew Carnegie on "The Cry of 'Wolf'!" in the Leviathan in academic institutions has made him familiar; but in practical politics it has hardly ever been a serious consideration. It requires some time before he is able to adjust himself mentally to a condition of affairs in which neighbouring nations are really preparing to blow each other to the moon in case of a conflict that is always imminent. It would appear that this, too, is the experience of the American citizen on his arrival in Europe.Nineteenth Century for
Sir George Grey had been trained to war, but he hated it; and no man felt more keenly than he the pain and the shame involved in the destruction of human life. In North-West Australia he had been obliged to shoot an aboriginal in self-defence, and he suffered mental agony for weeks afterwards. His passion for the amelioration of human suffering was so strong that he turned with loathing from the "armed camps," and the horrors of war which are associated with them. If only the Old World could be kept out of the New, then there might arise nations in the Southern Hemisphere without any traditions of war, and for whom the horrors of war might not be mitigated by any predisposition to regard it as a necessary evil. But if the entanglements of the Old World were to be kept out of the New, the colonists must be allowed to work out their own destiny, and evolve a national consciousness of their own. The result would be gain for civilization: the more speedy triumph of Christianity; and the closer approximation to the brotherhood of man.
There is, perhaps, no part of Sir George Grey's work
But he did not carry this doctrine so far as to deny responsibility in any of the Colonies for the safety of the Empire; and while he contended so forcefully that the Colonies should manage their own affairs, he admitted that there were Imperial interests to be maintained, and Imperial problems that could only be solved by their co-operation with the Mother-country. He advocated local decentralization not only because vitality must be maintained and the war traditions of Europe forgotten, but also because it was a step—a necessary step—toward the realization of Imperial Federation. Throughout his colonial administrations he had realized that friction was caused by the interference of the Home Government in minor matters which British ministers did not understand. Guided by the experience of the
And here lies the principle of the scheme which he advocated for the unity of Empire.
In 1859 he had been recalled from South Africa because he had encouraged federation. British ministers were afraid that this might lead to separation; and while they were opposed to any extension of the Empire, they were determined to maintain its integrity. Sir George Grey knew that their fears were unfounded, and future developments have proved that he was right. Canada did not cease to be loyal when the States were united under a federal constitution; nor is there any Colony in which the sentiment of Empire is stronger to-day. As with Canada, so has it been with Australia. Before the end of the nineteenth century British ministers were in favour of the Federation of the Australian States, and the sentiment of Empire is growing stronger as the sense of nationality deepens. The Federation of South Africa is now desired by those who are striving for Imperial unity. This in itself is a very high tribute to the prescience of Sir George Grey, and it shows how unerring was the imperial instinct by which he was guided. But the review of his arguments on the subject of Imperial Federation is not yet complete. He declared that before Imperial Federation was possible, the British Constitution itself must be federalized. Federal governments distinguished It would appear that this idea is gaining ground: Sir Wilfrid Laurier is reported to have said at a meeting in Ottawa, Imperium nor Libertas; but Imperium et Libertas, with the emphasis on Libertas.
As to the constitution and scope of the Imperial Parliament, Sir George Grey did not express himself very fully. It might consist of one or two Houses. On that point he would not speak dogmatically, though he preferred one; but it must be composed of representatives from every part of the Empire, and each State, Commonwealth, or dependency must be permitted to appoint its representatives
But in these last years Sir George Grey was dreaming of a wider unity than that of the British Empire. He had noted with interest that the disputes about the Canadian Boundary and the Behring Sea Seal Fisheries had been settled by arbitration; and on this he based his faith in the realization of some form of Anglo-Saxon unity. He was not so sanguine as to believe that we are within measurable distance of any comprehensive and definite scheme; but he was of the opinion that an Anglo-American Council might come quietly into operation when there was need of it, and disappear, for the time, when the immediate difficulty was overcome. That at least would be one step in the direction of Anglo-Saxon unity. Such a unity would, he believed, be a guarantee for the peace of the world; for it would enable the British and American peoples to hold the balance of power, by which the arbitrament of reason might be substituted for the arbitrament of the sword in the settlement of national disputes.
It would do more. Sir George Grey was a man of literary tastes, and he was dominated by religious feeling. The federation of English-speaking peoples would mean the triumph of Christianity, which was the highest moral system known to man, and it would imply the dominance of the Anglo-Saxon language, which he regarded as the richest in the world. Then "given a universal code of morals, and a
Sir George Grey was ever a dreamer, and never more so than in the evening of his days. When he expounded his views before the members of the Liberal Club and the reporters of daily papers and magazines in London, he made but little allowance for the frailties of human nature; he overlooked the distinctions of race and interests; and he repudiated the influence of passion and patriotism. This is true of his dream, as it is of many dreams; and to some extent he was aware of it. "My eyes may not see the fulfilment of my dream," he wrote in the Humanitarian, "but, nevertheless, it will be fulfilled." Home Rule was the basis of all his political schemes, but only the basis. He believed that the day of small kingdoms and states with their petty and parochial jealousies was past, and that the future belonged to the great empires of the earth. Among these great empires he saw the one which he had helped to build towering far above the rest. He had unbounded faith in the possibilities of the Anglo-Saxon race, not only because of their capacity for colonization which had been amply proved in history; but also because their government represented the highest form of freedom and civilization which had yet been attained within the memory of man.
These possibilities could only be realized in and through unity, and it was by Federation, and Federation alone, that the great nations forming the constituent parts of that Empire could be welded into one mighty whole.
The last four years spent by Sir George Grey in England were probably the happiest of his life. He had been made a member of the Privy Council in 1894, and shortly after his return to England he was reconciled to his wife. The heart of political England opened to him, and his chivalrous manner attracted numberless friends and admirers who loved to hear the tales of adventure in distant lands from the lips of the Great Proconsul. Storm clouds had burst over him in the noonday of his career, and in the darkness he had wandered from the track; but toward evening he had found his way home again. The air was calm, the clouds lifted, and the sun went down through a belt of clear sky, leaving an after-glow warm, tender, and bright.
At half-past ten on the night of Monday, September 18, 1898, Sir George Grey passed quietly away. Seven days later his mortal-remains were borne toward the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Empire. Technically speaking, his was neither a state nor a public funeral; but the procession included representatives of Her Majesty the Queen, the Colonial Office, and the City of London; and thousands of people watched it from the wayside. The coffin, as it lay in St. Paul's, was surrounded by many beautiful wreaths. One of them, composed of white orchids, was sent by Mr. Chamberlain as "a mark of sincere respect and esteem"; others bearing the inscriptions, "Friend to the people," and "Leader of the people," were conspicuous. It was fitting
But the last tribute was the greatest of all. At the conclusion of the service the coffin was lowered into the crypt, and placed beside the remains of Sir Bartle Frere, not far from the dust of Nelson and the Duke of Wellington.
Sir George Grey essentially a missionary—His passion for humanity, and life-long devotion to an ideal—Analysis of his resourceful and complex nature—Sense of beauty and religious convictions—Belief in an over-ruling Providence and the immortality of the soul—Bravery and foresight—His outward appearance no real index to the greatness of his soul—Strength and intensity of his feelings—Overwhelming sympathy for the simple-hearted and the poor—Courtly and chivalrous manner toward all who were not in a position to thwart his will—Impatience of opposition the tragic fault in Sir George Grey's nature—His morbid sensitiveness to criticism and proneness to suspicion—Incessant quarrels with officers associated with him in power—Necessity for discriminating clearly between his temperament and convictions—Turning point in the history of Sir George Grey's career—Severe blows, public and private, in 1860—Permanent value of his work in South Africa and Australasia—His Carlylean hatred of shams, splendid reliance on inward resource, and fidelity to the great purpose of a lifetime—Sir George Grey belongs not to a party, but to humanity—In the Australasian democracies he is mighty still.
When Sir George Grey was about to vacate the office of Prime Minister in New Zealand, he told the members of the House of Representatives in the course of an eloquent speech that "what we have in this world is like so much stage property lent to us to play our parts with—lent to us to see what good we do with that entrusted to us." There were times during his parliamentary career when he wandered far from his spiritual and ethical ideals, but in his loyalty to this conviction he never wavered. Jealous of power and eager for fame he was: he could brook no rival in the exercise of authority, and would ofttimes stand in imagination at the bar of history listening with trembling ears to the verdict of posterity. In forming an estimate of his character these are important considerations; but they are subsidiary. Sir George Grey was a missionary inspired with the belief
Grey had one child, a little boy who died at the age of five months, and was buried in the cemetery at Adelaide on July 25, 1841. The silent man became even more reserved, and he suffered acutely; but he sought relief where strong natures rarely fail to find it. Among his private papers there is a stray sheet signed "G. G." at the end of a few lines containing a reflection on this painful experience. "The voice within me said—cease grieving for the child, weep not for the dead, but rather weep for those who live or are to live. Arouse thee, rise up and struggle to ease the sufferings of the countless millions of thy countrymen who are now here or are to come—to endure the miseries which foolish men have prepared for them in this life." There is no antidote for a great sorrow so efficacious as the pursuit of a generous ambition. The tears of suffering are flashed into rainbows when the steady light of idealism shines through them from the soul. Grey was an idealist of the strenuous type; his mind was cast in a heroic mould, and each stroke of pain was made the occasion for more spirited endeavour.
There are quiet natures which find content and some measure of happiness in contemplation for its own sake. Not so Grey's. The law of his being was fulfilled only when the current of his thought had been discharged in some form of activity. Inaction fretted him, enforced inaction
And, like a true missionary, he was prepared to sacrifice every personal possession on the altar of his ideal. There are not wanting those who would find the key to his character in an insatiable desire for power; but fact—the most telling facts—are against it. "Gladly shall I resign a power if it is only to be retained by pandering to things to which I for one will not pander." So he informed the Parliament of New Zealand in 1879; and in similar language he had addressed the Secretary of State for the Colonies twelve years before: "If those who may be temporarily placed at the head of the Colonial or War Department, misled by a system of secret correspondence which has recently sprung up, require a blind uninformed acquiescence on my part in breaches by others of the laws of the Empire … I owe no obedience in such matters, but I owe a duty to the Queen and Empire, and it is right that I should with-stand those who commit violent acts, or who support those
And this is even more manifest in consideration of his positive acts and declarations: "A governor should be at the disposal of Her Majesty's Government to serve in any place to which he might be appointed without any reference to the emoluments of the post, or the private convenience of the particular officer whom they might think it right to employ." This was no vain boast, for the Colonial Secretary took him at his word, and, in the following year, sent him from South Africa to an inferior post in New Zealand—not because of any distrust of his ability; but from a conviction that he could do more than any other man to avert the impending disaster of a Maori war.
As with office, so was it with his personal possessions. They were means to the same great end. During his lifetime he spent large sums of money in the purchase of rare and valuable books. One collection he presented to the people of Capetown, the other to the people of Auckland. At least on two occasions he drew heavily on his private resources in order that the schemes which he had inaugurated for the benefit of the natives might not be overthrown. These sums were afterwards refunded by the Imperial Authorities.
He gave liberally to all philanthropic movements, and died worth only. £5,000.
His hold on material wealth was the more easily relaxed because he had so much resource within himself, and this is a consideration of primary importance in his as in any other missionary's life. Sir George Grey's nature was unusually rich in interests of a lofty kind. He was a lover of books, and especially of old books. Early one Christmas morning he clambered up the slopes of Table Mountain, taking with him an old volume of prayers and psalms which was printed in 1490. " I wonder that so few people love old books," he mused, "and that so many ridicule me for loving them." Turning over the leaves he chanced on the passage beginning with "Quia in manu cujus sunt omnes terrae "; and as he read his heart warmed under the inspiration of the message. " Faithful old volume that has for nigh four centuries never ceased to speak divine truths. How many men have treasured thee! If thou hast comforted them, how many must have tended thee with provident care! What pious eyes having read these words of truth and comfort have wept tears of joy upon thee! How many broken and contrite hearts have sobbed in woe above thy pages! Dear old friend of mine, how I love thee!" And there were many such treasures in the libraries which he gave to the people of South Africa and New Zealand.
But Sir George Grey was a writer as well as a collector of valuable books. At the time he assumed the government of South Australia in 1841 an account of his Travels in North-West and Western Australia in two volumes was being printed; and a vocabulary of the language spoken by Polynesian Mythology and Ancient Traditional History of the New Zealand Race, has not yet been superseded as a text-book on the subject. After his assumption of the High Commissionership of South Africa he was too busy with practical affairs to write any more books; but he devoted himself assiduously to the collection of pamphlets and papers on the language and customs of the Kaffir and Hottentot races, and they constitute the most valuable asset of the South African Public Library at Capetown. In the contemplation of his Imperial and political work there is some danger that the value of Sir George Grey's literary contributions may be underestimated. Somewhat careless of grammatical construction, he was yet a clear and forceful writer, and what he gave to the world was based upon protracted and original research.
Grey was an earnest and painstaking student, and the confession of his faith may be found in the Presidential address which he delivered to the New Zealand Society in 1851. "If we measure our knowledge with that now possessed by illustrious men who adorn the scientific circles of Europe our learning may be but scant indeed. But measure their knowledge by the boundless limits of the truths of science and nature, and what do they appear to know?" He had worked enough to realize "how little can be known"; but he had also grasped another and more important truth which has inspired scholars to work in their lonely garrets Lynher. His active mind set to work upon it, and after careful examination he jotted down in his diary that "no portion of the globe is more thickly inhabited, or affords in proportion to its size a greater amount of animal enjoyment than did this wave-tossed isle." Men see just as much as they have the power of seeing. Grey looked out upon a world teeming with interests. But he had something, too, of the poet's appreciation of the beautiful. The solemn grandeur of nature impressed him in the stillness before a storm, and it was beautiful to watch the sailors "clustered on the rigging like bees," reefing the topsails and making the vessel snug. Coasting down the west of Australia his open boat was hurled like a cork on the storm-tossed waves, and a feeling of anxiety for his party stole over him; but "the excitement of so grand and wild a scene was highly pleasurable." On land he would watch with wondering eyes "the brilliant fireflies moving about in the dark foliage of the trees," and in the lonely regions traversed only by the explorer there was a beauty in the starlit night "which would have made any one possessed of
Hardly less keen was his sense of the dramatic. Among his private papers at Auckland there is a play in his own handwriting. It may or may not have been composed by him; but he certainly had a lively sense of dramatic situation. "How beautiful! how beautiful!" he would exclaim as he contemplated the motions of an aboriginal stalking the kangaroo. When traversing a precipitous ridge on the way to the Glenelg River one of the heavily laden ponies stumbled and fell on its side. "I thought for a moment that the poor beast would have fallen down the precipice, but luckily its roll was checked in time to save this. There it lay, however, on a flat rock four or five feet wide—a precipice of 150 feet on one side of it, and the projecting rock against which it had struck on the other—whilst I sat upon its head to prevent it from moving. Its long tail streamed in the wind over the precipice; its wild and fiery eye gleamed from its shaggy mane and forelock, and ignorant of its impending danger it kicked and struggled violently whilst it appeared to hang in mid-air over the gloomy depth of this tropical ravine. Anxious as I felt for the safety of my pony, I could not be unconscious of the singular beauty of the scene during the few minutes that elapsed whilst I was repressing its struggles on a narrow ledge of rock, of which the dark brow projected threateningly above me, whilst the noise of a rushing torrent was audible far below."
Grey's accomplishments and his refined susceptibilities Oceana was published by James Anthony Froude in 1886, some few months after he had visited Sir George Grey in his island home at Kawau. "A simple but genuine evangelical piety controlled the issues of all his speculations," he wrote. "He believes absolutely in Providence."
A plant of slower and more uncertain growth was his belief in personal immortality; but it gathered strength with age, and struck its roots deep in later life. Those who worked with Grey in politics are inclined to doubt the sincerity of this conviction; but they are thinking mainly of the days when the tragic fault of his nature was working most powerfully. More intimate friends knew better. Among the picturesque valleys on the eastern slope of the Mount Lofty Range in South Australia lived Mr. Robert Davenport of Battunga, with whom Grey shared a life-long friendship. "'You say what a different world this is from our first interview," wrote Sir George in 1886. "That is in some respects true. Yet it remains the Creator's world, a training place for another world. Even in this one,
Dominated by such convictions, and fortified by so wide a range of interests, it is not surprising that Sir George Grey was a man of simple tastes who placed but little store on the outward goods of life. Intellectual and spiritual resource gave a content and richness to his inward life, and fortified him against many of those cravings which place inferior natures in the power of those who can gratify them. With an active brain, a seeing eye and a "thinking heart," he could make things exciting by investing them with interest; and that marks him off from a multitude of weaklings who if they want excitements must come and—buy them. All this made for strength; but it does not explain what Carlyle meant when he said that Grey was "born of the tetragonidae, built four-square solid as one fitted to strongly meet the winds of heaven and the waves of fate."
There are some qualities more intimately associated with "the inner man that is the spirit of the soul," and bravery is one of them. Grey was absolutely without fear. There may have been times (though they were exceedingly rare) when he faltered and held back, and he was sufficiently alive to a sense of danger when the pressure of responsibility was upon him; but in his personal and official conduct he feared
Rash he was in his personal conduct many a time; but hardly ever in the exercise of public duty. Some of his political measures may have been, and were, premature; but they were the result of careful deliberation and of long experience. Throughout his administration he had many crises to grapple with in the conduct of native affairs, and the measures which he adopted to prevent war or suppress rebellion were invariably characterized by a rare exercise of prudence which left a deep impression on Imperial ministers.
In the dispatch announcing his recall Sir Bulwer Lytton acknowledged "the mixture of firmness and benevolence which has characterized your dealings with the native races. The sagacity with which you have foreseen and averted probable collisions, and the able policy by which you availed yourself of unexpected and strange incidents in their history so as to use them at once for their advantage, and the security of the Colony." This was nothing more than adequate recognition of a valuable trait. Grey's foresight was by no means unfailing, but it was remarkable.
So long as he was carrying out measures that were in accordance with his own will, bravery was tempered with foresight and discretion. It was in his official relations that daring was carried most frequently to the point of indiscretion, and—beyond it. He never shirked responsibility, and not even Horatio Nelson could have acted with more confidence in his ability to rise to an emergency. At every stage of his career he undertook risks that could only be justified by imperious necessity, and sometimes only by conspicuous success. Disobedience may sometimes be glorious, and Grey had his share of good fortune; but after the Indian Mutiny he was more and more disposed to act as though he were the head and centre of the Empire; and that led to a conflict between him and his superior officers which left them no alternative but to demonstrate in the clearest manner that in the last resort his will must yield to theirs.
There was little in Sir George Grey's appearance to indicate the greatness of his soul. The piercing eye, firm chin, erect figure, slight frame and mobile lips gave
Sir George Grey's feelings were as strong as his convictions. He could be so moved by pity that it made him ill to decline the petition of any unfortunate person, and his friends were obliged to protect him against their appeals in later life by denying them access to his room.
It was the depth and strength of his compassion that made him idealize people in humble life and especially those in need. The Irish peasant victimized by iniquitous land laws became a paragon of all the virtues, and the Irish servant girl who went abroad to earn money to make a home for her parents beyond the seas was "a winning illustration of how the hard task-master, Necessity, had been an architect for building up new races" in distant lands. "I have mixed with the Courts of Europe; I have been with the greatest of the earth on the Continent and in England, and I have been in the simple cottage—and there I have seen a perfect lady!" Members of the New Zealand Parliament complained, not unreasonably, of an opponent who went through the country talking such "wretched twaddle." But Mr. Rolleston failed to see that there was sincerity in the remark; and Grey protested that "the honourable gentleman is spoiling a beautiful speech of mine."
It was a similar feeling of compassion that aroused his sympathy for the Boers of South Africa. Conscious of their limitations, he nevertheless felt irresistibly drawn to a simple and hospitable race attached to the soil, and free from conventional affectation or display. The
As with the poorer classes among the Europeans, so was it with the native races. They were in need of his services, and, though, they were led by wily chiefs, the people were simple-hearted too. Among the papers which have been handed over to the Public Library in Auckland, there are some to which Grey committed a few attempts at story-telling. Sandilli was a powerful Kaffir chief in British Kaffraria, and he had a daughter, Emma, who was one day to be given in marriage for as much as fifty head of cattle to a man whom she did not know, and perhaps would never care for. Grey had a horse called Thunderbolt, which Sandilli was anxious to buy, and he urged his petition till at last the Governor propounded a bargain. "Place Emma on Thunderbolt behind me, give us a short start, and then let two hundred of your best warriors pursue us on their fleetest horses. If they should catch us, then Thunderbolt is yours, and Emma shall do your bidding. If not, then
Hardly less characteristic was the chivalrous feeling which he manifested toward all who were not in a position to thwart his will. It was with no air of condescension that he rendered service to the ignorant and the weak; and his contemporaries noted with some surprise that he always treated the natives as gentlemen. He was passionately fond of children, and some of his happiest hours were spent in their company. It has been recorded that the younger Pitt was once enjoying a spirited battle with some children when a messenger of state entered the room. In a moment the cushions were dropped, and the great statesman assumed an air of formality and deep reserve. Grey, too, was accustomed to find relief and enjoyment by sharing the abandon of the children. To them he was ever an entertaining and gentle-hearted companion. They would run after him as he walked along the street, place a tiny hand in his, and chatter without reserve to a willing listener.
But it was in the conception of his duty to Her Majesty the Queen that the chivalrous quality of Grey's nature is most strikingly apparent. His attitude of mind recalls the
The review of Sir George Grey's character is now sufficiently advanced to indicate the resource, strength and complexity of his nature, and it will be clear that he was not without some of the qualities that distinguish a practical mystic, though he was never sufficiently absorbed in his
By no means so majestic as the great-hearted Puritan, and much less reliable, he had a subtler brain and a manner more refined. There was a moral grandeur about Cromwell which exalts him almost beyond comparison with Grey; but the "Lord of the Fens" did not exceed in tenderness toward sufferers more than the Great Proconsul. Passionate devotion to a "glorious cause" and a deep-rooted belief in an over-ruling Providence were common to both; but there was a great gulf between them. Cromwell was so fully absorbed in the service of the Infinite that the shadow of self never darkened the way along which he was destined to travel: though only a "poor worm" or a "creeping ant upon the earth," he was "conqueror and more than conqueror through Christ that strengthened him." Here is the evidence of that spiritual union between Cromwell and his Ideal to which Sir George Grey never attained. Grey had all the glowing enthusiasm of a strenuous idealist, and the unsatisfied yearning of a man whose reach ever exceeds his grasp; he, too, regarded himself as an instrument of Divine Will, and felt his littleness in the presence of that Mighty Power which ruled the stars; but he never reached those sublime heights of spiritual being in which considerations of self are lost in an all-absorbing desire to serve the Infinite. Self was never entirely subdued or overcome, and in 1867 he fell a victim to personal resentment and obdurate self-will.
But his character was great enough to reach tragic dimensions, and the quality that ultimately led to his official undoing was an impatience of opposition altogether unreasonable. It did not involve the ruin of his soul, because he was resourceful enough to regain in retirement what he had lost under the strain of controversy; but it led him into by-paths along which his better self strayed and for a time was lost. Sympathy aroused all that was best and noblest in him, and made him strive to the uttermost for good; opposition fretted him, worried him, and dried up all the springs of generosity in his nature. He had none of that large-hearted tolerance which characterized the conduct of Cromwell in committees and out of them. Full of tenderness and compassion toward those who were in need of his services, he showed an utter lack of sympathy and consideration for those who thwarted his will. Mr. Gardiner has said that Cromwell never rode the high horse in committee-rooms and councils. Grey was never off its back until he was hurled from his seat by those who were associated with him in power. And he made any other course impossible. Those who would not fish in his pond were made to feel that they were safer outside his park.
In a passage of some difficulty Hamlet soliloquizes on the "vicious mole of nature" in some men "from which their virtues else—be they pure as grace as infinite as man may undergo—shall in the general censure take corruption." The vicious mole of Grey's nature was an official intractability that broke down the pales and forts of reason, undermined his self-control, and left him the prey of arrogance, vanity, and personal resentment. His policy was
Grey's impatience of opposition has generally been ascribed to an inordinate love of power. Provided it is recognized that his missionary zeal was a more potent influence, there is some truth in the observation. But it was not the only cause. "I must, however, once more implore you and advise you—as a friend whose sincerity I think you ought not to doubt—to dismiss this notion that in everything I do write there is a hostile spirit to yourself. If I were as thin-skinned as you are how could I bear all that I read in your papers and reports of speeches in the Legislature? I assure you that although my health is very indifferent I do not attribute to their abuse any aggravation of my malady. They cause a smile but nothing worse, and I feel neither less nor more inclined to renew the cause of offence. All success continue to attend you. I feel for your difficulties. Be of good cheer, and God help you." So wrote the good Duke of Newcastle in a private letter to Grey during the early years of his second administration in New Zealand, and the occasion for it would not have arisen but for the Governor's morbid sensitiveness to criticism. The Duke had spoken plainly in one of' his dispatches concerning the conduct of colonial ministers. Characteristically, but without any justification, Grey had read into the language a censure on himself, and complained of the frequent humiliations to which he had been subjected!
Grey was a student and he did not escape the besetting vice of men who spend a disproportionate amount of time in seclusion. He was in no sense a "clubbable" man; and, mixing rarely with his fellows, had acquired but little of the give and take of ordinary social life. Nothing pleased him so much in his leisure hours at Capetown as an evening with his scholarly friend, Dr. Bleak, or a walk up the slopes of Table Mountain with a customs-house officer who, like himself, had a taste for natural scenery. There was nothing of the bluff, hearty manner about him which carries some men over a multitude of difficulties; and though he was able both to see and make a joke he was deficient in a sense of humour. He had most of the qualities that make for strength and independence, but the sense of proportion was to some extent endangered by the very intensity of his feelings and convictions. John Milton had a great soul, and he was heroic, but his magnificent struggle for liberty was marred by venomous and undignified attacks on his adversaries, when he was smarting under the lash of personal criticism. So was it with Grey. Before the quarrel broke out between him and Sir Duncan Cameron, Sir Duncan asked the Governor whether he should attempt to refute the criticisms on his conduct of the war which were appearing in the public press. "Take no notice," replied Grey, "go on quietly doing your duty." If only the Governor could have acted on that advice how different his future might have been! But he could not, and the effect on the public service was most pernicious. "The only dispatches of length which Sir George Grey wrote during his second administration in New
During his second administration of New Zealand, Grey quarrelled bitterly with nearly every individual associated with him in the exercise of power, and entered into wordy warfare not only with Mr. Fox, but also with Commodore Seymour, Lieutenant-General Cameron, General Chute, Mr. Cardwell, and Earl Carnarvon. The Imperial authorities were eventually driven to make every dispatch "confidential" which touched on controversial subjects in order to put a stop to his impassioned explanations and recriminations.
Instead of profiting by his own or the Duke of Newcastle's advice he went from bad to worse: from sensitiveness to suspicion. It has been said that Grey was one of those men who bordered on genius and madness. This may or may not be true; but suspicion did become a kind of mania in the more degenerate days. Even while he was in South Africa he had complained that there must be an enemy in the War Office. The Colonial Secretary made inquiries, assured him it was not so, and begged that he might close the correspondence on a subject so distasteful. Toward the end of his second administration in New Zealand he had come to the conclusion that there was a gigantic conspiracy to ruin him. The black list included Sir Duncan
It is now generally admitted that Grey's personal conduct made Cabinet government impossible in 1879, and the followers who acquiesced in his deposition are exonerated from blame. Imperial ministers have not been so fortunate, and the most recent writer on the general history of New Zealand, while fully admitting the intractability of his conduct in Parliament, has subscribed to the prevailing opinion that "he was scurvily treated by the Colonial Office."The Long White Cloud, by
And they were amply justified, for where he differed from his superior officers Grey was determined to have his own way. Many and interesting are the devices to which he resorted in order to get it. Instead of carrying out instructions that were distasteful, he would express some anxiety lest he had not fully explained the situation and signify his intention of awaiting the Colonial Secretary's reply to his more elaborate explanations. In the days prior to the introduction of steamboats this gave him a respite of twelve or even eighteen months. So far he was within his rights; but he abused the privilege.
During his first administration of New Zealand he had objected to the use of the proceeds of the land sales for the payment of a debt to the New Zealand Company after the surrender of its charter in 1851. But after considering the arguments advanced by the Governor, the Colonial Secretary still insisted that the debt should be paid. On the receipt of the second dispatch there was still a lingering anxiety in Grey's mind lest he should not have made everything quite clear to his lordship, and he wrote another evasive reply. "I very greatly regret the determination at which you have arrived," replied the Duke of Newcastle, "as I cannot in your present dispatch, or in any former dispatch, see any reason to justify you in adopting the resolution thus directly to disobey the orders of Her Majesty's Government. I have
Grey's diplomatic ability helped him to cloak some of his more flagrant acts of disobedience; but, failing this, he was prepared to assume an attitude of defiance. "The local men may propound their views at length," wrote Sir Bulwer Lytton, "but ultimately must do their best to carry instructions out and not disregard or neglect them." Grey was by this time an old offender. The important dispatch which Earl Grey wrote advising the maintenance of the authority of the Maori chiefs was not even acknowledged; the conditions for the settlement of the Anglo-German Legion in South Africa were ignored; repeated orders to effect a reduction in the Kaffrarian expenditure were not complied with; and in order to get settlers for the South-East he entered into a contract with a private firm at Hamburg to send out German families when he knew that the Imperial authorities had decided against it; the preparation of a scheme for the federation of South Africa was recommended to the Cape Parliament though the Colonial Secretary had instructed him to take no step without first consulting Her Majesty's Government.
Grey's recall from South Africa was a warning, especially as he was only reinstated by the Duke of Newcastle on the understanding that his scheme for federation could and would be dropped. But he failed to profit by it, and became even more intractable in New Zealand, whither he was sent in
The unfairness of Grey's attitude toward the Imperial Government becomes at once apparent in consideration of his conduct on the least sign of insubordination among the officers under his control. Edward John Eyre was appointed Lieutenant-Governor at Wellington during Grey's first administration of New Zealand, and in that capacity sent a communication direct to the Colonial Office instead of transmitting it regularly through the Governor-in-Chief. There was a clause in Earl Grey's Charter which afforded Grey an opportunity for revenge. During the visits of the Governor-in-Chief the authority of the Lieutenant-Governor in any province was suspended. Grey proceeded to Wellington and remained there for an indefinite period! This placed his subordinate officer in a most humiliating position, and he wrote to the Colonial Office asking for removal because he had been superseded for the past
Sir George Grey was an autocrat, and it was almost impossible for men of independent judgment to work harmoniously with him; but he was also the champion of liberal institutions and seized every opportunity of extending the influence of the people in politics. Here lies a paradox in his political position which needs to be explained in order to remove a false impression.
On Rangitikei Advocate contending that "the autocratic servant of the old Colonial Office who stood years between the people and Representative Government now appeared proclaiming himself the man of the people and the friend of universal liberty." This was either written or inspired by his old antagonist, Mr. Fox. But the assumption is founded in error. Grey always was the man of the people, and he was not at any time an autocrat in the sense that he was opposed to the extension of popular influence in the government of the country. While he was administering the affairs of
There was no inconsistency in the policy which he advocated in the New Zealand Parliament, but there was inconsistency in his conduct arising from the essential incongruity between his temper and the position in which he was placed by the success of his measures. He was heart and soul for the people, but he was unwilling to share responsibility in the exercise of power. Had the constituents returned only one man to power, and that man Sir George Grey, all would have been well; but at most he was a primus inter pares, and while he was anxious to give the people votes, he declined to work harmoniously with the people's representatives in Parliament. The one action stultified the other, and the deposition of 1879, caused by the desertion of his followers, was inevitable.
Under Grey's influence the sovereign assemblies of Australia and New Zealand became more and more democratic; but the spirit of constitutional government was not in him. Just as he made the Queen's government impossible in 1867, so he made Cabinet government
Grey was generously, not scurvily, treated by the Imperial authorities, and the time came when he was willing to acknowledge it. In 1894 he returned to England, and there, with the strain of opposition entirely removed, he was able to scan the past "all passion spent." He was frequently interviewed by reporters on the staff of London newspapers, and one of them wished to know what in all his life had impressed him most. "I think," he replied, "that which strikes me most is how I have been helped"; and he was loath to admit of any exception to this even in regard to the officials of Downing Street. And what a difference it made when the incubus on his soul was removed! What a rush of generous idealism characterized those few remaining years! If only he could have believed this when the strain of opposition was upon him how much greater a man he might have been!
There is a turning point in the tide of Sir George Grey's affairs which is sufficiently well marked by the year 1860. Up to that time he had worked under conditions that admitted of wide discretionary authority and personal initiative; but even then the splendid services which he rendered to the Empire suffered some disparagement from his official intractability. The circumstances under which he laboured after his return to New Zealand offered less scope for the qualities of an autocrat and exposed the weaker part of his nature to attack from many quarters. Incongruity between
The defects in Sir George Grey's character have been unsparingly dealt with, but not more severely than is justified by an impartial study of the most reliable evidence; and it is high time that the reputations of sincere and honest men at the Colonial Office were vindicated against the unjustifiable censures passed upon them by an author who has assumed the rôle of an advocate.
Sir George Grey stands in no need of an advocate. The work which he accomplished was great enough to bear the test of searching investigation and impartial criticism, and any attempt to justify him in the face of the most convincing evidence, or to exalt him by unwarrantable detraction of his opponents, can only serve, in the long run, to bring discredit on a great man's life. Grey was no faultless hero, no saint, but a strong, brave, sincere man, who strove earnestly and faithfully to fulfil a great purpose; and, notwithstanding the dênouement of 1867, he carried it
Nor must it be forgotten that the qualities which unfitted Grey for Constitutional government were those that made for success in the administration of a Crown Colony 10,000 miles away from Downing Street. He came out to Australia at a time when the governor was a despot entrusted with wide discretionary powers. There was a Legislative Council to assist him; but no Representative Parliament to control him. He was the servant of the Colonial Office; but how far was his will fettered by that when it took twelve and sometimes eighteen months to get a reply to a dispatch? Under such conditions the governor was practically an autocrat, forced to act on his own initiatives and to take risks. This was precisely the position for which Grey was fitted, and he filled it with conspicuous success. Such a man was needed in the early stages of Colonial development, and no more suitable man could have been found than he. The faults which brought about his official undoing in 1868 were tragic faults, arising out of an incongruity between character and circumstance.
And, even then, nothing is more essential to a right estimate of his position than to discriminate clearly between temperament and conviction. The failures which were due to self-will must not be ascribed to any inherent defects in his public policy. He was recalled from South Africa in 1859, and dropped by the Colonial Office in 1868. On both occasions he fell fighting for a winning cause. The sine qua non of Imperial Unity.
And the same observation is true of his parliamentary career. Self-will led to his desertion and deposition; but his policy remained, and was never more powerful than it is at the present time. In South Australia a Labour Ministry is in power at the time of writing with Mr. Thomas Price at its head, and his policy is almost exactly the same as that founded by Sir George Grey in 1877—extension of popular influence in government, closer settlement, and educational reform. In New Zealand Mr. Seddon controlled the administration for thirteen years, and on his own confession his policy was simply a revival of that which was founded by his friend and chief, Sir George Grey. South Australia and New Zealand are two of the most progressive countries in the world. Other states in the Commonwealth are following their lead, and it would appear that the political history of Australasia in the twentieth century will be, for the most part, the evolution of the policy which sprang from the brain of the Great Proconsul.
And in a sense it must be so, for Democracy has come to stay, and there is nothing in that policy which is not implied in the connotation of the term. Government by the people for the people: that is the meaning of Democracy, and that is what Sir George Grey strove to attain. It is true that he was a radical politician, but truer still that he was a humanitarian. He worked mainly for the poor and the oppressed, but he sought the good of all. Looking out upon the world with the eye of a man of wide and varied
It may well be that he carried his attacks on privilege too far; but at least he was true to himself and his mission. Aristocratic traditions were his, but he made no use of them; riches he might have acquired, but he preferred to endow the public with gifts rare and imperishable. He lived as a poor man of simple tastes, and died as he had lived. It was all part of his great and magnanimous scheme. "Would you speak with the voice of authority?" asked St. Bernard, "be what you would teach." With the same content the apostle of equality of opportunity divested himself of all accidental and external aids that gave him undue advantage over his fellows. And he had his reward. To the people he spoke with unrivalled power, and in the consciousness of real and inward strength he rose up against shams, impostures, and hypocrisies, smiting them hip and thigh in the political world, as did his friend Thomas Carlyie in the world of letters.
Sir George Grey's strength was prodigious, his consistency rare, and his reliance on inward resource magnificent. His personal faults died with him, but his work lives, and will live. In the history of Australasia he is mighty still.
The dispatches and enclosures transmitted to and from Downing Street during Sir George Grey's administration, together with a mass of evidence on South African affairs, in the libraries at Capetown and Auckland, furnish sufficient material for an exhaustive study of Sir George Grey's career as Governor and High Commissioner.
Of the material in the libraries special mention may be made of—