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White Wings Vol II. Founding Of The Provinces And Old-Time Shipping. Passenger Ships From 1840 To 1885

The Price Of Nelson

The Price Of Nelson.

Wakefield's system of settlement was designed with the idea of attracting men with capital enough to buy land at a price fixed too high to make it a profitable investment to purchase largely as a speculation, without intending to cultivate, and also too high to allow of the labour market being emptied by making every labourer a landowner without capital. In short, Wakefield aimed at getting enough capitalists to purchase land and enough labourers to work it. Unfortunately the company had overlooked the difficulty there might be in inducing the Maoris to part with their birthright, so some of the settlers had to wait long months, and even years, before they could get land. This meant that there was no work for the labourers, and so there was much hardship and distress in early Nelson.

At this stage it is interesting to recall the astonishingly varied collection of goods which the company gave the Maoris in payment for Nelson and the surrouding areas. We start with 10 blankets, 2 axes, 1cwt of tobacco, 300 pipes, 1 keg of powder, 1 double-barrel gun, 1 pair of shoes, 1cwt biscuits, of the total value of £24 19/3, which were handed over for Wakatu, the Maori name of the site of the town of Nelson. Then at various times goods were given to other chiefs, the last being a cask of wine and a bag of sugar to Rauparaha. The total value of the goods given for the whole of the Nelson settlement, including the Waimeas, Motueka, Takaka, and the Aorere district was £980 15/, which must be accounted a pretty good bargain.

When the company could not supply land it had contracted to sell, the settlers began to voice their complaints, and the company's officials saw that unless they could throw open the Wairau they would be inundated with claims for compensation. The company very unwisely decided to go ahead and survey the Wairau, and this was the first step that led to the tragedy that shocked the young colony and had an echo in Europe, because even in Paris there was talk of getting up subscriptions to enable the unfortunate colonists to return to England.

Rauparaha and Rangihaeata warned the pakehas not to meddle with the Wairau lands, but the company sent survey parties and the work was begun. Rauparaha and Rangihaeata followed with a band of Maoris and proceeded to demolish the three survey stations that had been set up. Their methods were similar in each instance, and are worth recalling, for whatever else the crafty Rauparaha and his bloodthirsty lieutenant may have been, they certainly went about this business in a way that reminds us of some haughty seigneur of mediaeval days.

Carefully avoiding doing any injury to the things that obviously were the personal property of the surveyors, they destroyed every-page 64thing that had been taken from the land. For instance, they burnt the tent pegs, the poles, the framework of the sheds, the raupo and fern bedding, and so on, but carefully removed the canvas covering of the sheds, and the sail-cover used as a roof on one of the temporary whares. All the instruments and other things were carefully placed in canoes and taken to the pa at the entrance of the Wairau. The Maoris carefully refrained from doing any injury to what actually belonged to the pakehas; all they burned had come from the land, and as the land was theirs they could do what they liked with it. "Do not be angry," said Rangihaeata. "This toe-toe belongs to me; it grew on my land. You might be angry if your house, which I shall burn, was built of boards that came from England, but as this toe-toe is mine, it is right that I should burn it. All the things belonging to you Europeans have been taken out of the house, and I am acting in accordance with a just law; it is for you to commit some evil act."

When news of this outrage reached Nelson Captain Wakefield organised a party headed by the police magistrate, several other officials, two constables, and twelve special constables. Together with boatmen and the men engaged on the surveys the party numbered 48. Except the officials, the party was composed of a nondescript body of labouring men, who were armed with unreliable muskets and rusty bayonets and cutlasses. Upon arrival at Wairau there was a parley with the Maoris and an attempt was made to execute warrants for the arrest of Rauparaha and Rangihaeata. Both chiefs were called upon, but they indignantly refused to surrender themselves, and words ran high. The chief police magistrate then gave the order for the armed men to advance, they having previously been kept out of sight and told not to fire unless they got orders.