The Weekly Times. "Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri." MONDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1867. “THE MANAWATU PURCHASE COMPLETED, OR THE TREATY OF WAITANGI BROKEN.”

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 1, Issue 52, 30 December 1867, Page 325

The Weekly Times. "Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri." MONDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1867. “THE MANAWATU PURCHASE COMPLETED, OR THE TREATY OF WAITANGI BROKEN.”

A -pamphlet -'of some seventy-two pages, bearing the above title, has recently been: issued from'the New Zealand press from the pen of T. C. Williams, “a native of New Zealand,” —rsuch the author styles himself, although it appears from the preface, to xhe" work that he is the son of Arch-' deacon .Henry Williams, one of the earliest . of • the Church of England missionaries in New Zealand. So far, 'then/ it* appears ; doubtful why * he should .paU himself; a ..native, being one "only in the same sense! as that in which the sons,‘and daughters of the settlers -are- natives,, whom’ we should hardly expect to see announcing the fact in; tho* i maimer Mr Williams has donhi : : ‘ ]lt.may :be/./however/ that he.so far idehtifies/htmsjelf as .tOjiCastiin: his/iot them, and advocates-that which he believes- their cause as one. of themselves. • ? ,Yet this stahUy/fdrgetting ;:ithat/hh natite

jhimsielf./wheii, writing of the Maoris, ; lie. ‘/calls them “ the natives.” This continually occurs throughout the work.

We need. scarcely say that the object of the pamphlet is to, create an impression that injustice has been done to certain natives, in the case of the recent purchase of a block of land, known as the Manawatu block, from them—as the title of the work sufficiently indicates it. To this end a mass of letters, &c., are brought together in what appears to us a confused manner; and we fear that those who are ignorant of the merits of the case will not derive much enlightenment from the pamphlet. That our readers may know what it is all about we give them a short outline of the story. Previous to the establishment of the Qneeu’s sovereignty over these islands —and, indeed, to the -arrival of the first missionaries,—a northern . tribe of Maoris (the Ngatiraukawa) had invaded the southern districts, and conquered the tribe (among others) which inhabited the Manawatu district (the Ngatiapa.) The missionaries, it seems, induced the conquerors, after their quasi conversion, to allow the conquered tribes to return, and in some sense repossess tbe district from which they had been expelled ; and for a long series of years the conquerors and the conquered have been living side hy side there. No formal act of restitution appears to have been ever .made, nor did it occur to either party as necessary; but at a time when extensive illegal dealings with natives for the use of sheep runs were carried on by the squatters, it seems that the conquered tribe was permitted to receive a share of the rents. So things went on until the passing of the Native Lands Act by the Colonial Government, which rendered the dealing with natives for land legal. This particular, block, however, was excepted from the operation of that Act for two reasons—lst, because of the impossibility of deciding between the claimants; and, 2nd, because the purchase by the Provincial Government of Wellington of that block had been partly accomplished, and it was considered best to allow the negotiations to be completed. Disputes between rival claimants for the land bought by the Government, such as the above, have been by no mean s rare, and the Government has generally managed to out the Gordian knot of difficulty hy buying off all the claimants, and so effecting a satisfactory solution of what otherwise could not be settled. It has been no uncommon thing for a fresh claimant to come forward and resist our possession of land which has been again and again paid for. Sometimes the land has been given up and the original purchase money forfeited, as was the case at Taranaki; but the more general mode has been to buy up the claims of all the contending parties. < In: the present case there are but one or two of the dissentient tribe (tbe conquerors) who refuse to accept a cash . payment for their share in the Manawatu block. The principal of these is Parakaia, whose claim is Insignificant "in- itself, but who does not relish the idea of relinquishing the honor of holding a part ownership of a large block , of country, and being reduced to the level of a small landlord; hence the figure he cuts throughout the pamphlet of Mr Williams. . Mr Williams argues—“ at the time of the execution of the Treaty of Wai tangi the Ngatiiraukawa held possession sion in right of conquest this particular blbck;of land jy tliat permitiing tlie re? turn of the conquered people was an act

of grace on their part, and does not affect their rights; and that the refusal of a single individual as Parakaia to agree to sell the land must prevent its alienation.” "We are afraid that Mr Williams hete takes ground that destroys the. value of the Treaty of Waitangi itself, of which he. makes so much. . Suppose the conquered people to say, as we fancy they might, “ Our lands were stolen; we did not relinquish our right to them, hut looked to be reinstated by the Britisli Government in lands we had just been turned off; snd being allowed to return were satisfied ” ; or suppose them to say, “ show that we were parties- to that Treaty you speak of—did Ngatiapa sign it?” Could he prove that he did ? or if Parakaia’s refusal to consent nullifies the sale, does not the non-assent of such chiefs as refused to sign the Treaty nullify it ? and it is well enough known that all the. chiefs who had .a voice in the matter did not sign.

Mr Williams disposes of thi buyers in a manner truly cavalierly. Of Sir George Grey and Ministers he says : —“ They may have proved themselves capable of framing laws for the good government of cattle and. sheep, but have proved wholly incompetent to the task of governing human beings, when those human beings are Maoris.” Of Dr. Featherston he says—“ He is a gentleman who wept over the Waitara, and considered it his task to make the dying couch of the Maori as easy as possible—professing to be their friend, who had ever advocated their true interests ; and at the same time exclaiming that ‘ he had no sympathy with the wretches, and did not care how soon they were exterminated.’ ” Of Mr Walter Buller—“ He is a model official; at all 1 imes ready and willing to say and do all and everything he is hid, and who has repeatedly said that he is prepared to go any lengths to ensure the Manawatu purchase.”

Mr Williams has been unfortunate in his endeavours to get his pamphlet before the public. In a postscript, —from which we take the first clause, in order to afford our readers a specimen of the peculiarly florid style in which such portions of the pamphlet as are original are written, —he says:—

The foregoing was prepared for the press in July last. -The proprietors of the then New Zealand Advertiser undertook to print it in a few "days. Their promises were faithfully repeated, as faithfully broken. • The proprietor of the New Zealand Times undertook the job. Shortly afterwards he failed. Some good Samaritan .has now taken the matter in hand. The south-easters blow heavily over the waters of Port Nicholson. "Wellington is an interesting city. Its inhabitants far more so.

—The delay has enabled him to give extracts showing that Parakaia has now an opportunity of appealing to the Native Lands Court, and showing what portion of the block he is entitled to, for which he will have a crown grant issued to him, and then can sell or not as he likes best. Of course this is most unsatisfactory to him and Mr Williams. Parakaia has A vague claim in part ownership over the whole; in fact, he says, much as Wi Kingi did of Teira’s land at Waitara, “ it is his, but 1 will not let him sell it.” Parakaia and his party will not define their claims, nor accept the Commissioner’s award, but assert a general claim in common with those who have sold'to the whole of-the block. The Governor, however,. is empowered by : a recent* Act of the General Assembly to fix a special sitting of the Native Lands Court - at which all claims-to land in this block- must be proved* and its decision will be filial; , For aught we. know the question is ere this, at rest.- -V

For the present we take; : our leave of Mr. Williams' hook. : There ia a vein

of argument, or allusion, running; through it rc-latiug to the government of the Maoris, which we shall probably take occasion to refer to at another time. -