TREATY OF WAITANGI

Hokitika Guardian, 7 June 1932, Page 8

TREATY OF WAITANGI

PARCHMENT’S CHEQUERED EXISTENCE.

‘RESCUED FROM FIRE AND RATS

WELLINGTON, June 2.

Few historical documents can have had such a chequered existence as the famous Treaty of Waitangi, which w>s signed on February 6th, 1840, on the north hank of the Waitangi river, and which, after having been rescued from rue, the oblivion of official forgetfulness and th© ravages of rats, has at last found safe keeping in a tin case under the charge of the Interna! Affairs Department at Wellington. Ninetytwo years after its 1 signing this most precious of all New Zealand’s records has assumed a new .interest, on account of the generous gift to the nation by the Governor-General and Lady Bledisloe of the site on which the Maori chiefs, after much hesitation, ceded their rights of sovereignty to Queen Victoria.

OFFICIAL NEGLECT.

Short-lived as are the historical traditions of New Zealand, it can perhaps be understood that those who were asso. dated with the early settlement of the colony put no great store on papers which they, at the time, failed to sen would becom e treasured possessions of the country, but there will be many who will be at lbss to understand how it came about that tide famous Treaty of Waitangi was so little considered that it was almost lost in the. limbo, of official neglect, that .it was until .com-, paratively recent years buried beneath a pile of aid records, and that if; was saved from total destruction . on’y through being accidentally .foupd in the basement beneath the Government Buildings, where it had fain as food for rats. To-day th© nibbled parchment on, which the Treaty was written is handled w.itih care and valued greatly. Few have been privileged to see the ori"in n 7 and one of th© last to be c hown the faded writing, traced with impeccable neatness by a forgotten hand, ■was the Governor-General, who paid a special visit to the Government Buddings som© weeks ago to inspect this document from which dates a notch record of achievement.

SIGNING OF THE DOCUMENT

The story of the Treaty’s signing, the events whict’i surrounded its framing, its disappearance, and final recovery provide a curious footnote to New Zealand’s history. The drafting of the Treaty was entrusted by the Governor, Captain' Hobson, to a Mr James Busby, who Kind been appointed British [Resident .in the Colony, in 1833. ..The Treaty was translated into Maori by the Rev. Henry Williams, and on February sth, 1840, a mass meeting of Maori chiefs was held on the north bank of the Waitangi river, where tihe Treaty wiis read and the chiefs besought to cede all rights of ‘sovereignty over their respective territories to the Quefen, who, in turn, would guarantee them full use and occupation of their lands as long as their wished to retain posse-sion of them in addition, the chiefs were to yield to, the Queen the sole right of pre-emption at prices l o be arranged of lands whicfi. the proprietors,* wished to alienate. In return her Majesty would extend her protection to the natives and confer on them the full rights of British subjects.

COUNTRY CO'fBED FOR SIGNATURES.

Violently hostile views were expressed by the chiefs, but next '1 " v 46 of them put their marks to the Treaty. To secure the assent of as many chiefs as possible, the Governor set out for Hokianga and Waimate and entrusted copies of tne Treaty to others who went through New Zealand securing signatures. By the end of June, 512 signatures had been obtained, including those of all the head chiefs except two. These original copies of the: Treaty ate all preserved at the Govern- 1 ment Buildings. They narrowly escaped destruction by fire when the Government offices at Auckland were burned down .in 1841, and the record clerk arrived just in time to rescue them from the flames. Ho. took them to the house of Mr Felton Matthew, afterwards the residence of Colonel Wynyard, and which still stands in Eden Crescent.

Later the sheets were taken to the Colonial 'Secretary’s office, where, it is believed they remained until 1865. For some years after that the Treaty sheets were lost sight of on occasions, but in 18i7 they were reproduced and then stored in the Dominion Museum at Wellington. From there they were apparently taken at some time to the Government Buildings for they were discovered in tire basement there in 1908 by Dr Hoeken. They had been in-

jured bv the ravages of rats, but with the help of reproductions Mr A. Hamilton, of the Dominion Mu cmii, and then .Mr McDonald, was able to make, a good restoration.

CAREFUL RFSTORATTON

Although badly eaten in parts the first draft of the Treaty signed at AVaitmngi is now in fairly good condit'on because of its careful restoration. It s mounted on canvas, about four feet by two feet, and the writing obliterated by rats lias' been skilfully restored on new parchment. Captain Hobson's sig-

nature is appended us well as .that of Mr Willoughby Shortlaml, who was then Colonial Secretary. CanTain hobson's writing is firm and cle'.'r but <>u other sheets the lines waver noticeably owing, it -is said, to bis -faL«■ of health, which became bad about that time. The

other sheets, which were signed all over New Zealand, are for the most

part in excellent condition. They also have been mounted and they measure about 22 inches by 12 inches, although some are larger. The marks ot the Maori chiefs are of all shapes and designs, and alongside them are the names of the signatories together with the names of the Governor’s witnesses, who •include Mr Williams, Mr Willoughby Shortlawl, Captain W. C. ‘Sy monels, and Major Bunbury, who combed the Colony from Kaitaia to Stewart Island,