XII. Rev. Mr. Buddle, Superintendent of the Wesleyan Mission.—1860.

"Mana" of the chiefs. This word means authority, power, influence. It was originally applied to persons and their words or acts, not to land. A chief whose authority or influence enabled him to gather together an army for war was he tangata [unclear: whai mana]—a man possessing mana. Commands readily obeyed are kupu whai mana—words having influence. A promise faithfully kept and duly performed was mana: Kua mana te kupu a te Kawana—The Governor's word has been fulfilled. This word has of late been used in reference to land, and now we hear of the mana o te whenua—the mana of the land. What distinct idea is attached to it, is difficult to say. The disputed land at Waitara is claimed by the Maori King party because the King's maua has reached it: Kua tae te mana o to matou Kingi ki reira—The mana of our King has gone there. And wherever this mana is gone the land is held as inalienable without the King's consent. Kia mau te mana o te whenua is another expression now in frequent use—i.e., Hold fast the mana of the land. What does it mean? This is altogether a new application of the term; perhaps it has been adopted in consequence of the Queen's sovereignty over the Island having been translated as the Queen's mana. But it certainly did not originally mean that which is now claimed for it—viz., a chief's "manorial right." This use of the word was not heard until this Maori-King movement originated it.

It is by no means clear that any such custom as "manorial right" ever obtained among the Native tribes—was either claimed by the chiefs or ceded by the people originally. A man took possession of territory by the strength of his arm and rested his claim on his conquests. "Na tenei," he would say, stretching out his arm, "By this I obtained it." Or he claimed it in consequence of having cultivated it. What reason could exist originally for such rights? Land sales were things unknown. If land exchanged hands it was not by sale but by conquest—by might disregarding right. Apropos to this subject, a Waikato chief, who was adducing reasons for the King movement, remarked, "hoko tahae" (dishonest sales of land) was one reason. A chief offered land to Government and, because he was a chief, it was taken for granted the land was his own; "but," he added, "you must not suppose that every chief, because he is a great man with a great name, is a great landowner. There are many great chiefs who have no land, and therefore have no right to sell." How does this accord with manorial rights? Take another fact. One man at the great meeting at Ngaruawahia drew a circle around him and said: "This is mine; let no man interfere with me. I am on my own land, and shall do what I like with my own." Another asserted the same right, and declared his intention to sell what he pleased when he returned from the meeting. Did these men acknowledge the chiefs' manorial rights? Take another fact. Potatau himself sold a block of land to the Government a few years ago, and received a deposit of £50, but the sale has never been completed, because the men who had cultivated the block deny his right to sell, though he is principal chief of the tribe, and refuse to allow him to do so. Manorial rights are imaginary rights when claimed for New Zealand chiefs.—[Pamphlet, Origin of the King Movement, 1860.]