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The French at Akaroa

Chapter III. — National Aspirations

page 57

Chapter III.
National Aspirations.

In order to present events in their proper sequence it is now necessary to refer to a series of incidents that were transpiring in another part of the globe. Under the Convention signed by three Ministers on 11th December, 1839, the French Government had agreed that the venture of the Nanto-Bordelaise Company should have naval protection upon its arrival in New Zealand. The world was then at peace, and there was little need for a convoy en route, but on reaching what was commonly believed to be a savage country the case might be different. The Marine Department had already reached the decision that the mission in the South Pacific so recently relinquished by L'Héroine should be resumed by the corvette L'Aube, 32 guns, which had just returned from Mauritius. In her new commission she was to be commanded by an extremely smart, efficient, and judicious officer, Captain Charles F. Lavaud. L'Aube was under page 58orders to sail from Brest, and was there refitting for the purpose, when, on 5th September, 1839, Admiral Duperré told Captain Lavaud that circumstances had arisen which might necessitate a modification of his orders. He then mentioned that the Government was being approached by the representatives of a Company who had some views with regard to the colonizing of a portion of New Zealand, and that it would be convenient if he would await developments.

In the preliminary negotiations Captain Lavaud was, as we have seen, permitted to play a minor part, but, nothing having been decided, on 3rd October he returned to Brest to superintend the refitting of his ship. This was completed on the last day of the month, and L'Aube went out into the roads. In a letter received from the Duc Décazes, Captain Lavaud was told of the formation of the Nanto-Bordelaise Company, but he heard little more of the scheme until he received orders to take on board L'Aube a large quantity of articles for exchange—guns, swords, helmets, blankets, carpenters' tools, and goods for restocking whaleboats, such as fishing-lines, ropes, &c. He was also to receive on board a brother of Captain Langlois, two Marist priests (Fathers Pesant and Tripe), and Brothers Duperron and Bertrand,* as

* The Brothers arrived at Brest on 19th January, 1840

page 59reinforcements to the Roman Catholic Mission in New Zealand. Nicholas Langlois, or "Langlois, junior," as he is described, was ordered to put on board 34 tons of goods, which were to be used as payment for Banks Peninsula, and in the first days of December he arrived at Brest. It was anticipated in the circumstances of the case that L'Aube would reach New Zealand some considerable time before the Comte de Paris, and Langlois, junior, came with definite instructions that he was to employ this interval in completing the purchase of the Peninsula, as provided for in the contract made with the native vendors by his brother, Captain Langlois. This purchase was to be effected by means of articles of trade, and it was for this purpose that the goods put on board L'Aube were to be used.

The goods procured by Langlois, junior, included two cows, a young bull, a male and female mastiff, geese, turkeys, poultry, pigeons, and rabbits. Slips of fruit-trees and seeds of many kinds were also secured. A full supply of potatoes was taken in, a portion to be used as a precaution against scurvy,* and a portion intended for planting in the new colony. The reverend Fathers carried cuttings of the grapevine, as well as two bottles of fresh tobacco-seed.

* At the daily health parades on board L'Aube every member of the crew was compelled to eat a raw potato, with very satisfactory results

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On 14th January Captain Lavaud received two sets of instructions. The first of these was from the Minister of Marine, and was as follows:—

To Captain Lavaud, commanding L'Aube.

Sir,—

Paris, 14th January, 1840.
The King has authorized a Nanto-Bordelaise Company to equip a vessel which has been lent to it by the State, with the double object of making a fishing expedition and of founding in the South Island of New Zealand an agricultural and commercial settlement. To this effect the ship, the Comte de Paris, will be immediately despatched from Rochefort. Its crew for the fishing operations should be forty men, but it will have to carry in addition sixty colonists, with supplies, arms,* and tools, and everything which may be necessary for establishing the proposed settlement. This settlement will be the result of the purchases of land which will be made from the natives in the name of the Company. As these purchases will be made principally with articles of exchange, the Company has bound itself, as you will see in its contract made with the Government, a copy of which you will find here, to put on board the Comte de Paris articles to the value of about 40,000 francs. You will have to take several tons of them on board the L'Aube. M. Langlois, agent of the company and brother of the Captain of the Comte de Paris, will embark with you and will mess with the officers. Immediately on arrival of L'Aube, which no doubt will precede that

* The Comte de Paris was armed with four 18-pounder carronades and two 6 or 8-pounders. She carried twenty rounds of ball and four of shrapnel for each gun. Every settler was to have one gun and one cutlass. These, although drawn from old Navy stock, were considered to be serviceable

page 61of the Company's ship, the agent should set about making the necessary purchases, and the preliminary arrangements for the reception and establishment of the colonists. On the arrival of the ship the supplies destined for the colonists, of which there should remain enough for sixty men for twelve or thirteen months, must be put in a safe place, either under lock and key, or on board the ship during its sojourn in the Port of Akaroa, or they may be transferred on board L'Aube, or placed in a store built ashore for this purpose, under a good and sufficient guard. These supplies will have to provide sustenance for the colonists until they are able to provide for themselves with the produce of their harvest and the animals which they will raise. You will thus realize how important it is to secure the conservation of supplies.

You will have also on board L'Aube two missionary priests and two lay Brothers.

You will endeavour, as I have set out in my general instructions, to get into communication with the Bishop, Monsignor Pompallier, established in the North Island, at the Bay of Islands. It would be well to request him to exchange one or two missionaries for one or two of his, who would understand the language and customs of the country.

The President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs has outlined for you in his instructions the duties that you will have to fulfil as King's Commissioner. You will have to oversee the entire engagements made by the Company. You will accord to its agents, as well as to the colonists, any support they may need, either against the natives or in any altercations that may arise with their neighbours.

The colonists must submit to the rules and regulations that you consider necessary for their safety, good page 62order, police, and protection of property. This is one of the articles of the contract to the carrying-out of which you must give special attention.

Until further orders, you will continue to reside on board L'Aube, where you will fly your guidon de Commandement,* but if any circumstances should render it necessary to transfer it finally or temporarily on shore the King's flag shall be hoisted, as a symbol of protection over the French and their establishments, on the residence of the King's Commissioner. It is in that capacity that, conformably to the stipulation of the contract, you will have to deliver certificates of origin either for the products of the French settlement or for the products of the fishing made by the actual ship of the Company. These stipulations will require all your vigilance to avoid fraud.

The Comte de Paris will be for the time the only ship in this case, but the certificate must not be given except for the products of its own fishing, and not from those accruing from other fishing, foreign or bought. In conformity with Article XI, you will scrupulously exact the return of its lands which the Company must make. You will make a selection from among them of those that should be set aside for public purposes, such as forts and other buildings: you will take possession of them and sign deeds for them in the name of the King of the French.

In a further set of instructions Captain Lavaud was ordered by Admiral Duperré to go to Havre to consult with a number of whaling captains as how best to protect the whalers in their cruises. He also was to collect and send

* His pennant as Commander

page 63to France cuttings and seeds of the New Zealand flax plant, Phormium tenax, for experimental planting in Corsica. Additional carpenters and blacksmiths were to be sent with L'Aube, to assist in constructional work in the new settlement.

The second set of instructions was from Marshal Soult, President of the Council, and Minister of Foreign Affairs. This paper has, unfortunately, been removed from the official file in the French Archives at Paris, and we can now only guess at what its complete terms were. An interesting and informative sidelight is, however, thrown upon the missing document in a letter written by Admiral Duperré to Marshal Soult, and which by a happy chance has escaped censorship. Duperré had perused the Marshal's instructions before they were sent to Lavaud, and he took exception to them upon two points. He first discussed these differences with the Marshal personally, and then on 29th December, 1839, put his objections into writing, with the hope, politely expressed, that his criticism would result in some modification of the terms being effected.

The first point to which exception was taken was what the Admiral regarded as the impracticability of paragraph iv. This paragraph read as follows:—

You will see to it that possession is taken in the name of France of all establishments formed in the Southern Island of New Zealand, and that the national flag is flown upon them.

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Duperré was not at variance with the spirit of this instruction so far as it related to the taking possession for France of portions of New Zealand, but he questioned the wisdom of attempting to fly the national flag at all such places, because there would not be sufficient force to protect it from insult, if insult should be offered. In the course of his letter he pointed out:—

All taking possession of land will be as the result of purchase by agents of the Company. The part belonging to the Government cannot be determined offhand. At first the only question will be how to protect and preserve these acquisitions. No Government establishments can be founded until later. The instructions to fly the national flag on each and every establishment of the Company seems to me dangerous, and even impossible. How could the flag be protected, exposed as it would be to the insult from the natives? At various points English, Americans, and foreigners might be moved to acts of envy or jealousy. In all countries foreign establishments are protected by the national flag flying only at the residence of the national representative. The English do that in the North Island, and have even given the natives a flag of their own, flying the English flag only at the Resident's house. Our Royal Commissioner will at first have his residence on board, under the Royal flag and his own Commander's pennant. That seems to me sufficient until there is a residence ashore.

These were the arguments put forward by Duperré in support of his view, and, judging by the fact that what he here suggested to the page break
Marshal Soult.

Marshal Soult.

page 65Foreign Minister was the direction later embodied in his own instructions to Lavaud, we may safely assume that Soult ultimately agreed to modify his instructions to the Captain of L'Aube, and when he left France Lavaud carried with him orders that, subject to the proper acquisition of the territory by the Company, he was to hoist the French flag at Akaroa, but at no other point of the South Island.

Enclosed in these instructions was a document naming Captain Lavaud as Royal Commissioner for the colony to be established at Banks Peninsula, and fixing as a "point of creation" Akaroa Bay, which henceforth was to be known as Port Louis Philippe.

It was in connection with the duties of the Royal Commissioner that Admiral Duperré's second point of exception was taken to Marshal Soult's instructions. The Marshal had considered the relations that were to exist between the French and the native people when brought into the close contact that colonization would inevitably bring them, and, desiring that no injustice should be done, he endeavoured to meet the situation in paragraph vi of his instructions:—

You will also protect the natives, and afford them every possible security for their persons and their property. They will be under the protection of France, and as such will be considered and treated as her subjects.

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This instruction Duperré thought too wide, embracing as it did the whole of the natives of the South Island. He therefore suggested that, so far as the guarantee of protection to persons and property was concerned, it should be confined to natives living within the French establishments or working for the Company. Just as he desired to see the flying of the national flag limited to one point, in order to reduce the responsibility of the State, so he saw no reason why the State should undertake responsibilities towards those natives who were outside its jurisdiction. That, however, did not imply an entire absence of interest in other natives on the part of France, for he stipulated that, while limiting the binding obligations of the State, it must be especially understood that "the good will and friendly protection of the King's representative will extend to all." Duperré concludes his letter with the hope that the suggestions he had made would be adopted, "in order that the King's Commissioner may be quite clear as to the real intentions of the Government and the duties he had to fulfil."

Although, unlike paragraph iv of the instructions, we have no contemporary proof that this clause was modified in the direction desired, there is little doubt this would be the case, since it went in the direction of limiting, rather than extending, the obligations of the State. That is, however, of minor value. What is of importance is that Admiral Duperré lays stress page 67upon the point that his suggested modifications would bring the instructions into harmony with "the real intentions of the Government," and, since he more than any other Minister was responsible for the arrangements and commitments, he better than any other Minister knew what the mind of the Government was.

The sailing of L'Aube was delayed for a month by continued bad weather, but on 19th February she took her departure. Once started, she had her share of adventure. Extremely rough weather was met with in the Bay of Biscay, where the quartermaster was knocked out of the rigging, swept overboard, and drowned before the boats could be launched.* A sailor died, and an officer had to be sent back to France on account of ill health. Two calls at ports were made—once at St. Croix, in Tenerife, and again at Senegal. When crossing the Line the usual amusing ceremonies were observed, and a considerable sum of money was collected by Father Neptune and his assistants, which was sent to the widow of the drowned quartermaster. High seas were again met with in the Southern Ocean, during which a young sailor fell from aloft and died as the result of the fall. In the same storm

* Captain Lavaud mentions in the most reverent way that this was perhaps fortunate, because, had the boats been launched, he doubted if they could have lived in such a sea, and one loss might have led to another and a greater disaster.

page 68the rolling of the ship caused the death of one of the cows which were being taken out to the settlement.*

On 29th June L'Aube was off the coast of Tasmania. At that time there was a south-east wind, shifting to the east—a fine breeze, but contrary to the course to be travelled to reach the south of New Zealand. Captain Lavaud therefore decided to sail for the Bay of Islands, for the triple purpose of securing a supply of fresh food, of landing at the northern Roman Catholic Mission the two priests and Brothers who had been permitted by the French Government to travel by his ship, and of consulting the head of the Mission, Bishop Pompallier, regarding social and political events in the country. Captain Lavaud's sailing orders provided for such a contingency, and, turning his ship's head to the north, he directed her to the Three Kings Islands, which he sighted at 1 o'clock on the morning of 8th July. This was the first land he had seen since 25th March. Next day he recognized Cape Maria Van Diemen; that night he passed North Cape, and at midnight of the 10th he was off the entrance to the Bay of Islands, having been delayed by alternate calms and adverse land winds.

* The animals shipped on L'Aube do not appear to have reached New Zealand, but, with this exception, Captain Lavaud makes no referenee to their fate.

Captain Lavaud mentions this had become the more necessary because a serious difference had sprung up between the priests and one of the Brothers.

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When L'Aube left France in February there had been no suspicion in the minds of French Ministers that Britain was about to seek the sovereignty of the country to which she was going, and Captain Lavaud was no better informed. Yet on 19th July of the previous year the British Cabinet, acting on the recommendation of Lord Glenelg, and perhaps hastened by the precipitate action of the New Zealand Company in rushing off its pioneer ship, the Tory, finally decided upon sending to New Zealand an officer invested with Consular powers; and on 13th August Lord Palmerston had written to Captain William Hobson, R.N., advising him that he had been appointed to the post. On the following day Lord Normanby gave him detailed instructions for his guidance in the conduct of that office. Captain Hobson was thereby authorized "to treat with the aborigines of New Zealand for the recognition of Her Majesty's sovereign authority over the whole or any part of those Islands which they may be willing to place under Her Majesty's dominion." Upon the achievement of this mission Hobson was to proclaim himself Lieutenant-Governor of the colony, acting under Sir George Gipps, Governor of New South Wales.

The subsequent publication of these instructions caused, as we have seen, an angry sensation in France; but by that time Hobson was already in New Zealand and Lavaud was well page 70on his way. Before the latter had arrived the former had completed his mission; the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, Hobson had proclaimed himself Lieutenant-Governor, and New Zealand was, by all the laws known to nations, a British possession. For once Britain had kept her secret well.

The first hint of what had happened was conveyed to Captain Lavaud by the pilot who went out to bring his ship into the bay. The news was a staggering blow to him, because he saw at once that the changed conditions would necessitate a complete revision of the secret instructions given him by the President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs. There was now more need than ever of a conference with his countryman the Bishop.

Inside the harbour L'Aube found the British warship Britomart,* commanded by Captain Owen Stanley. As soon as the Frenchman

* The Britomart was a 10-gun brig-sloop, built at Portsmouth in 1819. Her armament consisted of eight 18-pounder carronades, and two 6-pounder S.B. guns. The Britomart was on the Australian Station, and under orders from Sir George Gipps, Governor of New South Wales, left Sydney on 17th June, 1840, arriving at the Bay of Islands on the afternoon of 2nd July, H.M.S. Herald having worked into the harbour just ahead of her. This was her only visit to New Zealand. There were also in the harbour the whalers Jonas (Captain Rateau) and Justice (Captain Lucas).

Captain Owen Stanley was in command of H.M.S. Britomart for five years. He then transferred to H.M.S. Rattlesnake, and while with her he died at Sydney, on 13th March, 1850, aged thirty-seven years. He was the son of a former Bishop of Norwich, and a brother of Dean Stanley, of Westminster, and of Captain Charles Stanley. Private Secretary to Lieutenant-Governor Denison, of Tasmania.

page 71had cast anchor Captain Stanley went on board; Captain Lavaud consented to be introduced; courtesy salutes were exchanged, and the two officers remained very good friends.

Scarcely had L'Aube swung to her anchor than a message was received from Captain Hobson inviting Captain Lavaud to Government House, and almost simultaneously a similar invitation came from Bishop Pompallier, who expressed an ardent desire to see his countryman. Of this latter courtesy Captain Lavaud could not immediately avail himself, and reluctantly declined on the ground that matters of State had the first claim upon his attention.

Captain Lavaud is generally conceded to have been a man blessed with a level head and a good store of common-sense. In an emergency such as he was now called upon to face his discretion did not desert him. He confirmed, by inquiry, during the course of the morning the pilot's story, and made it his first official business to call upon Captain Hobson, who by this time had taken up his residence in the township of Russell,* at the head of the bay. In this Captain Lavaud was fortunate, for the Lieutenant-Governor, now rapidly recovering from a serious illness which attacked him in

* For an account of this township and the circumstances under which it was started see New Zealand's First War, by T. Lindsay Buick

page 72the previous March, had only the day before returned in the revenue cutter Ranger* from Waitemata, where he had been finally to determine the locality of the new colonial capital. "I was received," says Lavaud, "with politeness and courtesy by the Lieutenant-Governor, who presented me to Mrs. Hobson, to Mr. Felton Mathew, the Surveyor-General, and to Mr. Freeman, the Colonial Secretary. Mrs. Hobson mentioned that she had never seen a French man-of-war, and I at once invited the Governor and his lady, Captain Stanley, and Messrs. Mathew and Freeman to dinner at 5 o'clock on the 15th."
These civilities over, the conversation turned to matters of greater import. The Frenchman was naturally anxious to hear something of the voyage of the Herald, which, he had just been informed, had so recently as a week before returned after having proclaimed British sovereignty over the South Island. A few judicious inquiries turned the talk to that topic. He then heard exactly what he desired to know. He was told of the Treaty of Waitangi; he was

* The Ranger had previously been engaged in similar duties in Tasmania, and had been sent to New Zealand in February, 1840.

Bishop Pompallier was subsequently invited to this dinner, and the civility of Captain Lavaud did not end there. Baron de Thierry tells us—rather regretfully—that the Captain was constantly giving and receiving dinners, and "furnishing the Governor's lady with French bread for her daily breakfast." Mrs. Hobson had displayed great partiality for the French rolls served on board L'Aube, and this was Captain Lavaud's gallant way of meeting the situation.

page 73shown the Proclamations by which it was supported, and upon which Britain based her claim to sovereignty over the Islands. He then better understood his own position.

During the conversation Akaroa was mentioned. "On the strength of Major Bunbury's report," he says, "Mr. Mathew gave me a very pompeux* account of the beauties of Akaroa, and as he kept harping on its magnitude and safety, and upon the great ease with which it could be made impregnable by the erection of forts, I affected an air of indifference, and casually dropped a few words, informing him that this harbour had been purchased by a French whaler in 1838 and was French property, which fact appeared to have remained unknown till that moment."

This was probably the first intimation the Lieutenant-Governor had that the Frenchman's visit might have a political purpose; but, though surprising, it did not in the least interfere with his affability. "He asked me," says Lavaud, "to remain to dinner, but I excused myself on account of pressing business." At this interview Captain Lavaud had kept his own counsel fairly well. He had been a listener rather than a talker, and beyond his reference to French property at Akaroa he had not as yet given any indication as to why he was there. Nor had he elicited much from Hobson,

* An account given with a great display of ostentation

page 74who noticed a tendency on the part of Lavaud not to acknowledge him as Lieutenant-Governor, but ever to address him by his naval rank as Captain. This omission, which, Lavaud explains, was not due to discourtesy, but rather to habit, caused Hobson to display an equal reserve and to eschew as far as possible the discussion of official subjects. The difficulties of all parties were not eased by the fact that Hobson spoke no French, and there was not an officer on his staff who was better equipped. Captain Lavaud's knowledge of English was almost as limited, although it is shrewdly suspected that he understood it better than he spoke it.*
Having seen Hobson on the morning of the 11th July, Captain Lavaud paid his first visit to Bishop Pompallier during the afternoon of that day, when he received from the Bishop "the marks of kindness which that excellent pastor lavishes on all his countrymen." At first the Bishop would talk of nothing but his

* On his return from his southern mission in connection with the "Treaty of Waitangi," Major Bunbury says (Reminiscences of a Veteran), "I found Captain Hobson greatly improved in health. He was now engaged in diplomatic disputes with the captain of one of the French frigates, and who called himself Commander of the French Fleet employed in the South Seas. Not one of the officers employed about Government House, or the Governor himself, could understand French. Bishop Pompallier, from the Propaganda Fide at Rome, a Frenchman by birth, generally accompanied the French captain in his visits to the Lieutenant-Governor, where he officiated as a sort of interpreter, although I shrewdly suspected that the French captain understood English, if he did not speak it, perfectly well. A large proportion of the French naval officers employed in the South Seas spoke English."

page 75mission, "his successes, his hopes," and it was with difficulty the Captain could induce him to change the subject of conversation and discuss the political events of the country, "but at last he did it most graciously."

The Bishop then gave the Captain a perfectly straightforward account of the negotiations which had taken place at Waitangi, of which he had been an eye-witness. His narrative left no point of importance uncovered, and was untinged by national bias, so that at its conclusion Lavaud was bound to concede that if the treaty was, as some people at the Bay of Islands averred it was, a conjuring trick, "at least we must admit that the trick was played rapidly and skilfully enough."*

In his first despatch to the Minister of Marine, written on 19th July, Captain Lavaud thus describes what he found at the Bay of Islands, and how he proposed to meet the situation:—

On my arrival I heard of the taking possession, in the name of the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, of the three Islands comprising the group known under the name of New Zealand. The British flag flies two miles from the anchorage of Kororareka, on the River Karra-Karra (Kawakawa), on the site of Fort Russell-Town, the name of the town to be built there. A Lieutenant-Governor, Mr. Hobson, is established there,

* The full text of Captain Lavaud's account of his interview with Bishop Pompallier will be found in The Treaty of Waitangi, by T. Lindsay Buick

page 76with an administrative staff, and a garrison of 130 men, commanded by a field officer of the land forces, who has three other officers under his command. Three warships seem to be attached to the British colony. The corvette Herald, which belongs to them, recently made a voyage round all the Islands where Englishmen are established, visiting the principal places. Akaroa is at present also occupied by an Englishman, whose cattle graze there. The corvette Herald went there, and I heard that, about two months ago, there, as well as everywhere where she found no Europeans, the declaration of British sovereignty had been written on a paper, enclosed in a bottle, and hidden in the earth….

The position has greatly changed since my departure from France. British jealousy has made great steps forward and is running fast. I shall endeavour to avoid compromising the Government of the King; I will act with great caution, but, on the other hand, so far away from Your Excellency, and being ignorant of what has happened between the two Governments, after France has been notified that the full sovereign power lies in the hands of "Her Majesty Queen Victoria, her heirs and successors," as stated in the Proclamation dated 31st May—I repeat, so far away I cannot deviate from the orders I carry, and, having above all to preserve the honour of my flag, I shall declare officially to the representatives of Her Britannic Majesty on the Island, Captain Hobson, that for the present I protest against any measure coming from the British Government which might result in infringing the French property duly acquired from the free and independent natives, till the moment in which the Government of the King will be pleased to recognize British sovereignty over these Islands.

A fuller knowledge of the position, however, caused Lavaud, at his subsequent interviews page 77with Hobson, to regard with greater respect the British claims; but he was not yet prepared to surrender the position unconditionally. In this determination he was strengthened after a series of interviews he had with several of his own countrymen then resident at or near the Bay of Islands. On the 17th July he received a visit from a number of French settlers at Kororareka, and captains of French ships, all owners of land, who were alarmed at Hobson's Proclamations announcing the examination of all titles. On the evening of the 18th the Baron de Thierry came on board to see him, and made distinctly a favourable impression. "He is not a madman, as many have supposed," writes Lavaud. "He has conceived a great plan, but cannot carry it out for want of capital. If he had possessed sufficient money he would undoubtedly have become a great chief, if not king of the country."* Lavaud believed that de Thierry's greatest opponents were the members of the "Williams Mission," who had stirred up national prejudice against him; but with more capital to command support, even this he might have lived down. If he had been unwise or ill-advised in some respects, he certainly was not an adventurer, and deserved a better fate.

In his interview with Lavaud the Baron asked for protection for his life and property

* Lavaud subsequently somewhat modified his favourable opinion of the Baron

page 78both of which he declared were in danger; but Lavaud pointed out that it was not possible at once to bring a barbarous people under the influence of law and order—particularly so if the ruling authority had not the power to do it. Quite clearly, with a force of only 130 men, Captain Hobson did not possess that power. Lavaud, however, promised to speak to Hobson on his behalf, when he was confident his representations would be well received.

Subsequently, Lavaud introduced the Baron to Hobson, who treated him most graciously. He listened to his tale of woe, but pointed out that he could not act on general statements. If the Baron would furnish him with specific instances of outrage against his person or property he would do his best to render him justice, and as a step towards the general preservation of peace he was about to station a Police Magistrate at Hokianga, where the Baron lived.

Impressed by the representations made to him by his countrymen, and desirous of clearing the atmosphere somewhat, Captain Lavaud decided to write to Hobson asking for information as to what attitude he proposed to adopt towards the property of French nationals resident in New Zealand. He desired this information, he said, in order that he "might communicate it to the French proprietors who, in the circumstances, have recourse to the page 79protection which their flag assures them." To this interrogation Hobson replied that he could afford his questioner no information until he recognized his title as Lieutenant-Governor.

As matters were now reaching a crisis, Lavaud wrote to Hobson telling him that he wished to hand in his reply in person, and asked for a meeting. This conference was arranged for the 20th. On that day Lavaud went to Russell, and at 11 a.m. was introduced into the presence of the Governor. Hobson had just concluded a conference with some of his officers, and, dismissing the remainder, he kept with him Captain Stanley and Major Bunbury to be present at the interview.

Captain Lavaud opened the discussion by expressing his regret that Hobson had not seen his way to give him the information he had asked for, as to the measures to be taken by his Government with regard to French property acquired from the natives of New Zealand. These natives, he claimed, were free and independent, at least up to the moment that Her Majesty's Government had declared her sovereignty over them. This was information he did not think could reasonably be refused.

To this Hobson replied that the dignity of his Government would not permit him to enter into official communication on such a matter with one who refused to recognize the title which his Sovereign had been pleased to confer upon him.

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Lavaud's not unnatural retort was that the dignity of his Government demanded that a proper notification of this sovereignty should be made; that at the time of his departure from France nothing of the kind had been anticipated, and that in consequence his instructions made no provision for such a contingency. Under these circumstances, to recognize Captain Hobson as Governor of New Zealand would be equivalent to a recognition of the sovereignty of Britain, a step which was not proper for him to take on his own initiative. Proceeding, he declared that France had incontestable rights in New Zealand, especially in the South Island, where property had been acquired as early as 1838 by Frenchmen; that settlers were now on their way, and possibly had arrived, to take possession of it. His orders were to protect those settlers, and to extend that protection to Frenchmen elsewhere in New Zealand.

Hobson's reply was that he was not particularly concerned with the property of the Frenchmen; what he was concerned about was the sovereignty of the Islands. He therefore strove to convince Lavaud that when the Maoris sold land to his countrymen they sold only the land, and not its sovereignty, which they had now transferred to Britain. So far as his countrymen's property was concerned, he need have no anxiety; it would be respected and protected by the British Government, subject page 81to the same conditions as governed similar property held by other Europeans—namely, inquiry by the Land Claims Commissioners.*

Lavaud then handed Hobson a letter which he stated was his "last word." In pursuance of his policy not precipitately to acknowledge the Viceregal status of Hobson, he had addressed this letter to Monsieur le Capitaine Hobson, representant de S.M.B. dans I'Ile du Nord de la Nouvelle-Zélande, and it commenced, Monsieur le Capitaine. It was signed by Lavaud as Le Capitaine de corvette, commandant les Forces Navales Stationnées dans les mers de la Nouvelle-Zelande. In this communication he told the Governor that, though not admitting it, he would not contest the question of sovereignty, but would refer it for settlement to his Government. He would, however, remain in New Zealand waters for the purpose of protecting French property and of protesting against any interference with it. Beyond that he contemplated taking no action. Hobson read the letter with close attention, and then told Lavaud he quite approved of it; that

* Captain. Lavaud states it was agreed that a note should be taken of this conversation, and before they parted it was written down. The author has applied to the French Government for a copy of this document, but has been informed officially that it is included in a series of papers not open for public inspection.

Captain Hobson, representative of Her Britannic Majesty in the North Island of New Zealand.

Captain of corvette, commanding the Naval Forces stationed in the seas of New Zealand.

page 82had he been in his position he would have adopted exactly that line of action, as being "the surest way of avoiding a conflict which could only have most unpleasant consequences to both Governments, being, as they were, so far away from the seat of authority."

I insisted, says Lavaud, upon knowing if the contents of my letter had been well understood. He told me, "Yes," that he understood the whole sense and the whole situation; that he would send a copy to the Governor-General at Sydney, who would take his orders from the Government of the Queen, and that in the meantime he would use his whole persuasive influence with this same Governor-General so that the Commissioners should not be obliged to inquire about the validity of the French title-deeds until the two Governments had come to some arrangement.

It seems clear, then, at this point the two men had arrived at an understanding; that, so far as the Frenchman was concerned, he was to refer the question of sovereignty to his Government for negotiation with the British Ministers—Hobson, on his part, undertaking to do nothing to prejudice French landholders until those negotiations had been concluded. Hobson could agree to this, being confident in the strength of his own position; Lavaud, because for him it was the easiest escape from an extremely delicate and dangerous situation.

Having reached this agreement, it was then that Lavaud told Hobson he was going to the South Island, and for what purpose. The page 83scheme of the Nanto-Bordelaise Company was disclosed, and for its colonists he, in the interval occupied by the negotiations between the two countries, claimed the protection of their own Government, so that they might confidently "occupy the land to which they were coming, sow on it, and reap without being worried." To this Hobson gave a tacit assent.

Further eventualities were thus discussed by Lavaud in his despatch to his Ministers written at the close of the conference:—

M. Langlois will take possession of Banks Peninsula, and will give over to me the land which he is to transfer to the French Government, which will not appear in the matter, unless it were to decide that it ought not to give its adhesion to the sovereignty of Queen Victoria over the Islands of New Zealand, of which Banks Peninsula is a part; and in case that I were to receive orders to declare that this sovereignty was not recognized, I should proclaim that of France over the Peninsula. I say only Banks Peninsula, because all the rest is invaded and occupied by the British. There is even a Magistrate at Cloudy Bay. Things are so advanced that it is impossible to stop them, and, being persuaded of this, I wish to let the King's Government act freely without urging or compromising it in anything. The same motives have made me avoid placing myself in the position to be obliged to fire the first cannon-shot, the signal of war, knowing that if on my departure from France Your Excellency could have seen the position in which I find myself at present you would have sent me off with different instructions from those I have; you would not have let the Comte de Paris sail, and you would not have left me the choice of war or peace.

page 84

The information which Hobson now had regarding the operations of the Nanto-Bordelaise Company was certainly surprising, if not disconcerting. Under its first influence he displayed those symptoms of panic which, owing to indifferent health, he more than once evinced during his Governorship. He did not fear for the sovereignty of Britain, which he felt was founded on an unshakable rock, but he saw that it would be wise to fortify that sovereignty by some executive act which would show that his Treaty, his Proclamations, and indeed his whole Government, was something more than an empty form. He therefore decided to send the Britomart to Akaroa, carrying two Magistrates, who were to open Courts and administer justice whenever their services were required. The men selected for this purpose were Messrs. Michael Murphy and Charles Barrington Robinson, both of whom were picking up a precarious existence by the practice of law at Kororareka, and were, doubtless, quite ready to accept Government employment Mr. Murphy was regarded as senior man, and Robinson, though a barrister and solicitor, was selected not so much because of his legal training as because he was a fluent French linguist.

For the general conduct of the expedition Captain Stanley received the following instructions,* which

* These instructions, together with the log of the Britomart, were by the courtesy of the Earl of Crewe, then Secretary of State for the Colonies, first made available to Dr. G. H. Scholefield, for publication, in 1910

page 85bear the impress of having been written under the influence of strong excitement:—
Government House, Russell,

Sir,—

Bay of Islands, 22nd July, 1840.

It being of the utmost importance that the authority of Her Majesty should be most unequivocally exercised throughout the remote parts of this colony, and more particularly in the Southern and Middle Islands, where, I understand, foreign influence and even interference is to be apprehended, I have the honour to request you to proceed immediately in H.M. sloop, under your command, to those Islands.

On the subject of this commission I have to request the most inviolable secrecy from all except your immediate superior officers, to whom it may be your duty to report your proceedings.

The ostensible purpose of your cruise may appear to be the conveying of two Magistrates to Port Nicholson, to whom I will elsewhere more particularly refer. The real object to which I wish particularly to call your attention is to defeat the movements of any foreign ship-of-war that may be engaged in establishing a settlement in any part of the coast of New Zealand.

There are various rumours current that Captain Lavaud. of the French corvette L'Aube, now at anchor in this port, is employed in the furtherance of designs such as I have before mentioned. From some observations that fell from him, I discovered that his intention was to proceed to the southern islands, being under the impression that the land about Akaroa and Banks Peninsula, in the Middle Island of New Zealand, is the property of a French subject.

These circumstances, combined with the tone in which Captain Lavaud alluded to Akaroa and Banks Peninsula, page 86excited in my mind a strong presumption that he is charged with some mission in that quarter incompatible with the sovereign rights of Her Britannic Majesty, and which, as I have before observed, it will be your study by every means to frustrate.

If my suspicions prove correct, L'Aube will no doubt proceed direct to Akaroa and Banks Peninsula, for which place I have earnestly to request that you will at once depart with the utmost expedition, as it would be a point of the utmost consideration that on his arrival at the port he may find you in occupation, so that it will be out of his power to dislodge you without committing some direct act of hostility. Captain Lavaud may, however, anticipate you at Akaroa, or (should he be defeated in his movements) may endeavour to establish himself at some other point. In the event of either contingency occurring, I have to request you to remonstrate and protest in the most decided manner against such proceedings, and impress upon him that such interference must be considered an act of decided hostile invasion.

You will perceive by the enclosed copy of Major Bunbury's declaration that, independent of the assumption of sovereignty of the Middle and Southern Islands, as announced by my Proclamation of the 21st May last (a copy of which is also enclosed), the principal chiefs have ceded their rights to Her Majesty through that officer, who was fully authorized to treat with them for that purpose; it will not, therefore, be necessary for you to adopt any further proceedings. It will, however, be advisable that some act of civil authority should be exercised on the islands, and for that purpose the Magistrates who accompany you will be instructed to hold a Court on their arrival at each port, and to have a record of their proceedings registered and transmitted to me.

page 87

You will by every opportunity that will offer forward intelligence of the French squadron's movements, and, should you deem it necessary, to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, through the Admiralty, and to His Excellency Sir George Gipps, Governor of New South Wales.

Mr. Murphy and Mr. Robinson, the Magistrates who accompany you, will receive a memorandum of instructions for their future guidance, which you will be pleased to hand to them when you arrive at your destination.

As your presence in these islands will be of the utmost importance to keep in check any aggression on the part of foreign Powers, I have earnestly to request that, should you require any further supply of provisions, the same may be procured, if possible, at Port Nicholson, or at any port on the coast, without returning to Sydney.

I have the honour to be, sir,
Your most obedient servant,

W. Hobson.

Later on the same day Hobson was able more calmly to write to his chief Police Magistrate, Lieutenant Willoughby Shortland, who was then at Port Nicholson, whither he had been sent post-haste to put down the acts of "high treason" of which the Lieutenant- Governor in one of his excited moments believed the southern settlers guilty. The letter, though brief, is important, because it proves beyond all doubt that before the Britomart left the Bay of Islands for Akaroa, Hobson had page 88received and tacitly accepted Captain Lavaud's assurance he had no intention of taking forcible possession of Banks Peninsula:—

Russell, 22nd July, 1840.

A French ship is here, commanded by Captain Lavaud, a straightforward, honest man, direct from France. She is the forerunner of a squadron of three or more ships who come for the ostensible purpose of protecting and controlling their whale-ships. The Frenchman will not acknowledge my title, nor do any act that can directly or indirectly convey the recognition of his Government of our right to these Islands, but he declares he contemplates no measure beyond protesting against our interference with French property obtained from the natives.*

Upon receipt of his instructions from the Lieutenant-Governor on the 22nd, Captain Stanley gave orders to make the ship ready for sea. Concerning her departure there was no secret; as to her destination there was a certain amount of mystery. That she was leaving to take Police Magistrates to Port Nicholson was the word in one man's mouth; that she was racing to take possession of Akaroa, where it was known the French were proceeding, was the rumour spread by another. "The captain of the Britomart told me he was

* The original of this letter is in the Hocken collection, at Dunedin.

"The same day the Britomart sailed—some said to take Police Magistrates to Port Nicholson, others to take possession of Akaroa, where it was known I was going." (Vide Captain Lavaud.)

page 89proceeding to Port Nicholson, but that possibly he would meet me at Akaroa, where he might be going," is what Captain Lavaud knew of an event which tradition has credited with taking him completely by surprise.

On board the Britomart routine work had been going on, but now it took a more serious turn. According to the ship's log, which is the most authentic record of what followed, at 2 a.m. on the 23rd she received on board, " per order of His Excellency Lieutenant-Governor Hobson, Mr. Murphy and Mr. Robinson, Magistrates." At 8 a.m. she loosed sails and shortened in cables. At 11 a.m. she weighed anchor and made sail. Working out of Kororareka, she tacked occasionally. The vessel was busy all the afternoon working out of the Bay of Islands, and at daylight on the 24th Cape Brett lay on the lee bow ten or twelve miles distant.

The passage to Akaroa was a thoroughly bad one, and the ship, which was evidently not too well found at the outset, suffered considerably from the knocking-about she received. At midday on the 25th, the first day out, the vessel was off the Great Barrier. The following morning the foretopmast-stay was found to be chafed through, and in the afternoon the foretopsail was split.

On the 27th time was spent bending new sails, and in the afternoon two ports were stove page 90in by the heavy sea. Cape Wareka (probably Wharekahika) was 218 miles distant at noon on the 28th.

On the 29th and 30th there was a heavy head swell, which made the 120 miles to East Cape a great deal more. However, the wind veered round, and the Britomart rounded East Cape before midnight on the 31st. In the afternoon there were 14 in of water in the hold, and thereafter the pumps were going almost continuously.

On 2nd August "Akoroa," as it was called, was 306 miles distant, and the pumps showed 17 in. and 18 in. throughout the afternoon. At 2 o'clock on the morning of the 3rd the Britomart shipped a sea which stove in the lee quarter boat and washed away a port.

The ship was twelve miles farther from her destination at noon on the 4th than on the previous day. Again, in the early morning of the 5th, a sea stove in a weather port. Land was seen on the port bow at 10 a.m. on the 6th (it was somewhere near Flat Point, or Te Awaite, in the North Island), and in the afternoon a sea split the foretopmast-staysail. Next day the weather moderated, and sea-water was pumped into the empty tanks. Land showed on the lee bow at 7 in the evening, and next morning (8th) Cape Palliser was four or five leagues distant.

On the morning of the 9th (Sunday) the crew was mustered and Articles of War read (a pro-page 91ceeding of quite a routine nature). There was land on the beam, and a run of eighty-three miles to Akaroa.

This is the narrative of the 10th: 4 a.m. bore up for the land. 12.30 calm, with a heavy-swell; out sweeps and" swept ship" (i.e., propelled her by means of large oars). 1.30 a breeze from the northward; in sweeps; trimmed and swept into harbour. 4.30 shortened sail and came to with S.B. in 6¾ fathoms; furled sails, &c.

Thus late in the afternoon of the 10th the Britomart reached Akaroa. On the way in she picked up a boat which contained some natives and one of the "characters" of the Peninsula, James Robinson Clough, better known as "Jimmy Robinson," whom Captain Stanley at once swore in as native interpreter. After he and his dusky wife had been generously entertained on board, Robinson was given a bell and small ensign, and with these he was sent ashore to notify to the natives at the neighbouring kaik* and to the few Europeans attached to Captain W. B. Rhodes's cattle-station that next day a Court of Petty Sessions would be opened by the Magistrates then on board the sloop. The said Court was to be held at the flagstaff erected at "Green's Point," a position selected because of its proximity to the native settle-

* Native settlement; the southern equivalent for the northern kaianga.

page 92ment
and to the house of Mr. William Green, who was then in charge of Captain Rhodes's Akaroa interests.*
On the morning of Tuesday, the 11th, the crew of the Britomart were astir bright and early:—

Tuesday, 11th August. A.M.: Daylight, out boats; employed drying sails, clearing sail-bins, and drying spare sails and stores. P.M.: employed as in forenoon; unbent foresail and bent another; up boats

These are the extremely matter-of-fact entries in the ship's log describing the work of a day upon which there was performed on the shores of Akaroa Harbour a little ceremony which has attracted as much attention as almost any event in New Zealand history.

The business of the Britomart's mission was commenced by Captain Stanley, as directed by the Lieutenant - Governor, handing to Mr. Murphy, the senior Magistrate, the following memorandum of instructions:—

Memo of Instructions to be attended to by Mr. Murphy, P.M.

You will, at every port that H.M. sloop Britomart touches at, act in your magisterial capacity, and, as it is requisite that the civil authority should be exercised,

* The point on which the flag was hoisted was known as "Green's Point "—so called after a man named William Green, who had an accommodation-house in an adjoining inlet, afterwards known as Red House Bay. Green came from Sydney to Akaroa to look after Captain W. B. Rhodes's cattle. A copy of the contract made between Rhodes and Green at Sydney is in the Turnbull Library, Wellington.

The captain's log contains a similar entry, but no mention of any ceremony.

page 93should no case be brought under your notice, you will adjourn from day to day, and a careful record of your proceedings must be made, a copy of which you will transmit to me. Under any circumstances that Captain Stanley may call upon you for assistance you will, of course, render it, and co-operate generally with him in the advancement of any measures he may think it expedient to adopt.

Dated at Russell, 21st July, 1840.

Armed with this authority, the two Magistrates, accompanied by a number of the ship's officers, were then taken ashore to Green's Point, where a flagstaff had already been erected.* By this time a large number of natives had gathered about in a state of highly excited and expectant spirits. A group of naval officers in full uniform, a flagpole, and a flag meant something to the Maori of that day. When everything was in readiness the Union Jack was run up on the flagpole, the announcement was made by Mr. Murphy that the Court was opened, and that all who had suits to try

* On the question of this flagstaff there are discrepancies and contradictions which are now impossible of reconciliation. One account states that already a flagstaff had been erected by Mr. W. B. Rhodes, who had told his men that if a French man-of-war came into the harbour they were to hoist the Union Jack, drive the cattle under it, and defy the Frenchman. This flagstaff, it is claimed, was used on the above occasion. Mr. C. B. Robinson, the Magistrate, has told with meticulous detail how a spar was brought ashore from the Britomart, rigged with pulley and halyard, and on this the flag was hoisted. The third story is that a kahikatea sapling was cut from the bush by James Robinson Clough and made to serve the purpose. Still another account is: "The Union Jack was soon flying bravely from a kahikatea tree on Observation Point."

page 94could have them heard by the process of British law and British justice. As yet the litigious spirit had not been bred in this small community, and no cases were presented for adjudication, but the Magistrate's announcement was received with a burst of cheering, while the natives relieved their pent-up feelings by firing a fusilade from their collection of weird and wonderful guns.*

This ceremony was repeated at Red Point— later known as Battery Point—where there were also a few houses, and subsequently at three whaling-stations on the south-west coast of the Peninsula. Where there were cases to be heard they were adjudicated upon; where there were none, the Court solemnly assembled and as solemnly adjourned to a future day.

One of the three whaling-stations visited was situated at Piraki Bay, and old Hempleman, a German whale-master, its proprietor, who up till then had lived very much a law unto himself, has thus recorded his first introduction to British authority in New Zealand:—
On the 14th August, 1840, I was standing at the door of my house at Piraki, talking to the captain of a French whaler, when suddenly he said, "Helloa! here comes an English man-of-war's boat." All the hands

* Some accounts state that a detachment of marines was landed and that the Britomart fired a salute. Naval authorities assure me that if this had been done it would have been mentioned in the ship's log. The fact that it is not there may be taken as prima facie evidence that it was not done

page 95turned out to see so unusual a sight, and we went down to meet the boat, wondering what they came for. They soon let us know their business, for the lieutenant in command jumped out and asked me who was the owner of the station. I told him I was. "Then," he said, "I must ask you to haul down that flag," pointing to the one I was flying. I laughed, and said "Why, that is the flag of my country." "Never mind," he said, "I will give you a better one," and after some little chaff my flag was hauled down and the Union Jack was hoisted instead. Then the lieutenant took formal possession of the place in the name of Her Britannic Majesty," and a Court was held by the two Magistrates who had come with him—namely, Messrs. Murphy and Robinson.*
From Piraki the British officers went to Price's fishery at Ikoraki Bay, some miles to the south-west of Piraki, and. then proceeded to Ohaoa Bay, where there was another whaling-station, run jointly by Price and a celebrated character known as "Paddy" Wood. At these two places similar assertions of British authority were made. Returning to Piraki, the British boat picked up Hempleman, who went with it to Akaroa, where he found the Britomart lying at anchor of! Green's Point. In Captain Stanley he

* The formal entries in the Piraki Log, kept by Hempleman, bearing on the doings of the Britomart, are: "Friday, 14th: Fine weather throughout. No boats out. At 12 p.m. a boat from Wongooloa belonging to the Britomart, man-of-war, to issue out Proclamation respecting land in New Zealand. At 3 p.m. left with intention of - visiting Price's fishery, with promise of calling tomorrow." "Sunday 16th: Fine weather throughout; two boats out. At 9 a.m. the man-of-war boat came ashore, and after a short stay went to Wongooloa." This latter name was one of the whalers' many corruptions of Whangaroa—long harbour—an old name for Akaroa

page 96discovered an old shipmate, for Stanley had been first lieutenant on board the frigate Forth when Hempleman was a seaman in the British Navy.
When on the forenoon of the 23rd of July the Britomart sailed from the Bay of Islands L'Aube was still lying at her anchorage, and she remained there for five days. For some time after his interview with Hobson on the 20th Lavaud was still unconvinced of the fullness of Britain's sovereignship. He was still casting over in his mind all the possibilities of the situation, and on the 23rd he had another conversation with Hobson. On the following day he wrote to his Minister, again emphasizing the delicacy of his position, declaring that, so far as he could see, Hobson either could not or would not settle the question of sovereignty. Whatever of uncertainty he believed he saw in Hobson's statements or manner caused him to think there was still a vestige of hope, for he wrote on the 24th:—

In this state of affairs, if the Britannic Government has not got the signatures of the chiefs of Banks Peninsula —that is to say, their consent to recognize its sovereignty—I will make every possible effort to convince the chiefs that they must not abandon their land to any nation, but preserve it for themselves and their descendants by accepting the patronage of France and its Government. It is also in the direction of independence, I believe, we ought to act with Britain.

As Hobson was leaving the Bay of Islands next day, and proposed to be absent for several page break
Mme. Eteveneaux.

Mme. Eteveneaux.

page 97days, Captain Lavaud took leave of him on the evening of the 25th, after several hours' conversation with him. The details of that conversation have not been recorded, but there is little room to doubt that by this time the Governor had been able to satisfy Lavaud's most intimate scruples regarding Britain's claims, for he did not subsequently raise the issue of sovereignty. There also remains the veiled suggestion that during the course of the evening Hobson told Lavaud the Britomart was going to Akaroa, partly because he, as yet, knew nothing about that port and desired to have some information concerning it, and partly because he was not quite sure what Lavaud was going to do there. This uncertainty also seems to have been removed from Hobson's mind by the fuller knowledge he had now gained of Lavaud's intentions, and by his renewed assurances that he had nothing like "national intrusion" in his mind; for the Frenchman concludes this portion of his narrative with a statement which implies that, at least, Hobson was impressed by his sincerity, and that the two men parted good friends: "Mr. Hobson, at the last moment, was delighted to take steps allaying the absurd rumours which were circulating in Kororareka, and which were of a nature to disturb the Government of the colony, in supposing me to have orders and instructions which I did not have."*

* This does not mean a repudiation by Lavaud of his instructions to " take possession"; it only implies that the rumours were in excess of his instructions. It is not clear what steps, if any, Hobson took to allay the rumours.

page 98

Whatever information Lavaud may or may not have had regarding the movements of the Britomart, he evinced no particular anxiety to go in pursuit of the British sloop. He found an abundance of things to interest him at the Bay of Islands, which he describes as one of the vastest and safest harbours in the world. He found it greatly frequented by whalers, but while the population of Kororareka was increasing, the agriculture of the surrounding districts was not. Indeed, land-selling had become the principal business of the place, values which to him were inconceivable being reached. This wild speculation, he shrewdly predicted, would leave "hard marks" upon the last purchaser. The only farming done in the district was done by the English missionaries, and they had also done very well for themselves. He estimated the native population at about 180,000, and the white people of Kororareka at not more than 2,000. He mentions that one of the most influential chiefs of the district, Rewa, had recently become a convert to the Roman Catholic religion and was bravely struggling to live up to its tenets. To him the most imcomprehensible thing about it was its ban upon polygamy. He had been accustomed to anything from ten to twelve wives, and thought it uncommonly hard that he was not permitted to recruit his forces with younger ones as the older ones died off.

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L'Aube set sail from the Bay of Islands late on the 27th, and at 8 o'clock in the evening cleared the entrance and headed for the south. With her she took two priests, Fathers Comte and Pesant, who were going to establish a mission among the natives and the new settlers at Akaroa.

The stay of L'Aube at the Bay of Islands and her voyage to Akaroa must have been a topic frequently canvassed and discussed by the French settlers when ultimately they discovered what their true position was. One of the most worthy of these, M. Eteveneaux, has given us in his own words a very clear conception of what the French view of these incidents was, after they had been freely debated by their firesides and over the vineyard fences. M. Eteveneaux's narrative is as follows:—

After landing, the settlers learned that Captain Lavaud, on his way to Akaroa, had called at the Bay of Islands and conferred with Captain Hobson, the agent of the New South Wales Government. He must have told Hobson where he was going, for although particulars of these conversations were never made public a little had become generally known. Hobson, it was understood, had stated that the English in the North Island and the French in the South Island would be too near neighbours; but Lavaud had replied that they were nearer than that on the other side of the world, the Straits of Dover being narrower.* That was practically all they had ever learned about the historic conversation.

* The French advocates of colonization by no means regarded New Zealand as an indivisable unit. They saw no reason why, if Britain occupied one part, France should not occupy another. The British thought differently.

page 100

While in the bay Captain Lavaud gave a dinner and a ball, and they were grand functions. All the British officers, including those of the Britomart, were invited and attended. But at midnight the naval officers left without saying good-bye or anything. The ball went on till morning, and then the crew of L'Aube found that the Britomart had disappeared. Lavaud did not come on deck till about 10 o'clock, and then ordered that all the rigging should be taken down and overhauled. That was done, and before night everything was in place again, and the ship ready for sea.

Next day the wind was in the wrong quarter, so Lavaud would not start, and for five days the vessel lay there until the officers began to speak plainly, and even hinted at treason. The very fact that Lavaud did not resent the suggestion was a proof of something wrong. There were two passengers on L'Aube, two priests (Fathers Comte and Pesant), and they were on the poop at the time and overheard the conversation. Years afterwards, when Lavaud had sailed for home, the priests told the settlers of what had happened at the Bay of Islands and on their trip down. After the conversation with the officers Lavaud promised to sail next day, but five clear days had been lost.

The vessel came south under easy sail until the Kaikouras were reached. Then the lookout cried "Sail-bo! " and all eyes were fastened on the sail ahead. Soon the Britomart was recognized, to the great surprise of Lavaud, who, it is said, turned pale, and gave orders to shorten sail, remarking to those on the poop that a gale was coming up. The vessel was hove-to all night, and next day set a course for Akaroa. For two days Lavaud kept outside the Heads, when he could easily have got in, and when he did sail in it was only to find the Britomart had landed a party which had claimed possession of the Island. It was found out that the Britomart, on the way down, had carried away a spar, and that had delayed page 101her. "Lavaud must have had an understanding with Hobson," M. Eteveneaux added. "Personally, I think that he sold the Island, and that the French authorities were in league with him."

Captain Lavaud's own narrative is more prosaic: "My crossing from the Bay of Islands to Akaroa contained nothing remarkable; head winds kept me back, so that I did not reach it till the 11th." The land to the north side of the Peninsula was first sighted, and with a good wind the coast-line was closely followed until the Heads were recognized. These were reached during the afternoon. There L'Aube found the French whaler Pauline (Captain Billard) hove-to, waiting the return of a canoe which had gone into Akaroa to bring out some men who were to join the crew, replacing a number who had deserted. Captain Billard boarded L'Aube, and told Lavaud that the Britomart had arrived the day before. He also confirmed what Lavaud had heard at the Bay of Islands concerning the visit of H.M.S. Herald to Akaroa, where she had published Hobson's Proclamations upon assuming the Lieutenant- Governorship of the colony. He was, however, able to convey the comforting information that this had, so far, in no way interfered with the French whalers.

I tried to enter the harbour, says Lavaud, but the wind dropped close to the shore.* I was obliged to get

* A few months earlier Dumont D'Urville had a similar experience when trying to enter Akaroa Harbour, and narrowly escaped losing L'Astrolabe on Truini Point

page 102the boats out, and was towed by them and by those of the Pauline, but between the two points of the entrance the breeze comes from the bottom of the bay, and compelled me to take in the boats and make for the open. The captain of the Pauline suggested standing by till next day to help me, but I declined, owing to the uncertainty what the weather might be.

Whatever the causes which kept L'Aube so long outside Akaroa, whether adverse winds or shifting political currents, she was close to the entrance at 5 o'clock on the evening of Saturday, 15th August. There was little breeze and an unfavourable tide. In the most friendly spirit the boats of the Britomart went to her aid, and after three hours' strenuous towing she reached the end of her long journey, dropping her anchor in Akaroa's waters at 8 p.m. Mutual salutes of courtesy were fired, and the two Captains almost immediately met in conference.

I could not, says Lavaud, resist jokingly asking Captain Stanley if he was afraid I was going to carry off the Peninsula, as it looked as if he had been sent to guard it. He smiled, and replied that if at his departure he did not tell me he was going to Akaroa it was because he received his orders at the moment of sailing; that his orders were to take two Police Magistrates to Port Nicholson, and that he might leave one at Akaroa, if desirable, there being some English settlers there.

This little piece of diplomatic camouflage did not in the least deceive Lavaud, who in continuing his comment says:— page 103

However, it is obvious the ship came to Akaroa only to await me there, and for the settlers who were known to have left France, with orders to inform his Government where we settled and what were our resources.

Writing four days later to the French Minister of Marine, Captain Lavaud, in his first despatch sent from Akaroa, says:—

I have the honour to announce the arrival of L'Aube in the Bay of Akaroa on the 15th instant.

I found several British established there, and the Proclamation placarded by the corvette Herald last May posted on the house of an Englishman placed in charge of these Proclamations.

He also mentions, but does it in the most casual manner, that he found the Britomart there; that she was sailing along the coast and visiting the different ports, with two Magistrates, having to go everywhere an offence had to be investigated and punished. He then ventures the naive surmise, "I suppose that my presence is somewhat the cause of these cruises."

In his own narrative* Captain Lavaud gives us some further account of the state of British occupancy at Akaroa as he found it than he appears to have given to his Minister. He also devotes some attention to an examination of the principal British title, which he was inclined heavily to discount because of its disputed

* Voyage et Essai de ColonisationNouvelle-Zelande.

page 104character. Within a short distance of his anchorage he found two European dwellings. One, inside the Maori pa, was occupied by the aforementioned James Robinson Clough, who made his living by fishing in the bay, and by growing potatoes, the price of which was 175 francs per barrel. The other dwelling was at Paka-Ariki Bay, and was the residence of another Englishman, William Green, who had been put in charge of the establishment of Captain W. B. Rhodes. His business, Lavaud discovered, was to look after between thirtyfive and forty head of cattle, and to assert possession of an area of land bought in 1839 from a Captain Lethart, who had previously purchased it from the Otago chief Taiaroa. This chief was then claiming jurisdiction over the Peninsula, asserting that the local natives had been defeated, enslaved, and had lost their rights. Arrogating to himself, on these grounds, assumptions which did not truly belong to him, Taiaroa sold to Captain Lethart the port of Akaroa, and a further block covering fifteen miles of coast from the south-east point of the Peninsula going northward. In turn, Captain Lethart sold to Captain Rhodes, "but," remarks Lavaud, "the Akaroa natives do not recognize the sale, saying they got nothing out of it."
When the French Government received these initial reports from Captain Lavaud, describing page 105the political state of New Zealand and the contested character of the Peninsula titles, their first impulse was not to resist the British claim to sovereignty, but to abandon the settlement so far as the Peninsula was concerned. Indeed, we have the authority of the Due Décazes* for saying that the Minister of Foreign Affairs had actually drafted a letter of instruction to Captain Lavaud, telling him that nothing more could be done at Akaroa, and to have the colonists removed to some portion of the North Island. This decision was arrived at in the belief that an asylum would be found for them on territory owned and occupied by other Frenchmen, notably the Baron de Thierry, whose status as a landowner seemed to be as thoroughly misunderstood in France as it was by the Baron himself in New Zealand. The instruction was, however, never sent, because the Due, who evidently relied more upon the whaling than he did upon the agricultural side of the enterprise, was able to intervene and

* Due Decazes, writing to Lavaud on 28th April, 1840, remarks: " As to what you wrote with regard to the Langlois acquisition, the Minister of Foreign Affairs was disposed to write to you that in such a state of affairs (the declaration of British sovereignty and disputed titles) there would be nothing more to be done at Banks Peninsula, and that the best thing would be to place the colonists in some part of the North Island where the French would have acquired lands—for example, those of Baron Thierry. Between ourselves, the letter was made out in this way. I hope you will not receive it." The Due then goes on to explain that he had contended that Langlois' title was as good as that of any one else, and that the French should stay on the Peninsula. This evidently stopped the proposal to shift the settlement to the North Island

page 106persuade M. Thiers that in the uncertain state of things Captain Langlois' title was as good as that of any one else, that the harbours of Port Cooper and Akaroa were invaluable to the whaling industry, and that until more was known of the actual position the French should stay on the Peninsula. These arguments won the day with the Minister, stayed his hand, and Captain Lavaud heard nothing officially of the matter. He therefore remained to make his dispositions for the reception of the settlers, who were now nearing their journey's end.