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Proposals of Mr. Sydney David Taiwhanga, M.H.R., for the Colonization and Settlement of Maori Lands

English Version

English Version.

Her Majesty Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, regarding with Her Royal Favor the Native Chiefs and Tribes of New Zealand, and anxious to protect their just Rights and Property, and to secure to them the enjoyment of Peace and Good Order, has deemed it necessary, in consequence of the great number of Her Majesty's subjects who have already settled in New Zealand, and the rapid extension of Emigration both from Europe and Australia which is still in progress, to constitute and appoint a functionary properly 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. Her Majesty, therefore, being desirous to establish a settled form of Civil Government, with a view to avert the evil consequences which must result from the absence of the necessary Laws and Institutions alike to the Native population and to her Majesty's subjects, has been graciously pleased to empower and authorize me, William Hobson, a Captain in Her Majesty's Royal Navy, Consul, and Lieutenant-Governor of such parts of New Zealand as may be, or hereafter shall be, ceded to Her Majesty, to invite the confederated and independent Chiefs of New Zealand to concur in the following Articles and Conditions:—

Article the First.

The Chiefs of the Confederation of the United Tribes of New Zealand, and the separate and independent Chiefs who have not become members of the Confederation, cede to Her Majesty the Queen of England, absolutely and without reservation, all the said Confederation or Individual Chiefs respectively exercise or to possess, or may be supposed to exercise or to possess, over their respective Territories as the sole Sovereigns thereof.

Article the Second.

Her Majesty the Queen of England confirm and guarantees to the Chiefs and Tribes of New Zealand, and to the respective families and individuals thereof, the full, exclusive, and undis-page 8turbed possession of their Lands and Estates, Forests, Fisheries, and other properties which they may collectively or individually possess, so long as it is their will and desire to retain the same in their possession; but the Chiefs of the United Tribes and the Individual Chiefs yield to Her Majesty the exclusive right of Pre-emption over such lands as the proprietors thereof may be disposed to alienate, at such prices as may be agreed upon between the respective proprietors and the persons appointed by Her Majesty to treat with them in that behalf.

Article the Third.

In consideration thereof, Her Majesty the Queen of England extends to the Natives of New Zealand Her Royal protection, and imparts to them all the Rights and Privileges of British subjects.

W. Hobson,
Lieutenant - Governor.

Now, therefore, we, the Chiefs of Confederation of the United Tribes of New Zealand, being assembled in Congress at Victoria, in Waitangi, and we, the Separate and Independent Chiefs of New Zealand, claiming authority over Tribes and Territories which are specified after our respective names, having been made fully to understand the Provisions of the foregoing Treaty, accept and enter into the same in the full spirit and meaning thereof; in witness of which we have attached our signatures or marks at the places and the dates respectively specified.

Done at Waitangi, this sixth day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty.

The first meeting at which this Treaty was presented to the Northern Chiefs for their approval and adoption was held at Mr. Busby's station, at Waitangi, on the 5th and 6th February, 1840; and which was fully reported by the Lieutenant-Governor to His Excellency Sir George Gipps, in the following despatch:

Her Majesty's Ship "Herald,"Bay of Islands, 5th February, 1840.

Sir,

—I have the honor to acquaint Your Excellency that immediately on my arrival here I circulated notices, printed in the Native languages, that on this day I would hold a meeting of the Chiefs of the Confederation, and of the high Chiefs who had not yet signed the Declaration of Independence, for the purpose of explaining to them the commands I had received from Her Majesty the Queen, and of laying before them the copy of a Treaty which I had to propose for their consideration.

page 9

Accordingly, a vast number of Chiefs, with a multitude of followers, crowded in from every quarter, and at 12 this day they assembled under the spacious tents, decorated with flags, which had been previously erected at Waitangi by the direction of Captain Niaz, of this ship.

And so on with several other despatches of Lieutenant-Governor Hobson to His Excellency Sir George Gipps, and also to the Secretary of State for the Colonies.

With the foregoing remarks and extracts from Parliamentary documents, we leave these sheets to the scrutiny of all interested inquirers. However curious they may appear now, they will become much more so as time rolls on; and whatever may be the opinions of the present or future generations as to the policy adopted in 1840, it is certain that, without some such agreement between the two races as was determined by "The Treaty of Waitangi," the Queen's authority and government would never have been so peaceably admitted and established in this country.

H. Hanson Turton.

Wellington, 10th. April, 1887.