THE VISIT OF HIS EXCELLENCY GOVERNOR GORE BROWNE TO THE BAY OF ISLANDS AND THE NORTH.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume V, Issue 1, 15 January 1858, Page 1

THE VISIT OF HIS EXCELLENCY GOVERNOR GORE BROWNE TO THE BAY OF ISLANDS AND THE NORTH.

On the 6th inst., at 2 p.m., His Excellency the Governor, accompanied by Mrs. Gore Browne and suite, embarked on board H.M.S. Iris, 26 guns, Captain Loring, C.B. Yiie Frigate immediately afterwards got under weigh; and, after a pleasant passage of about four aud twenty hours, arrived at Kororareka on the following day. Kororareka is the oldest European settlement in New Zealand, and was a populous and prosperous town until, in consequence of the ill advised conduct of Hone Heke and his adherents, it was abandoned by its European inhabitants \ 3 years ago;—since which it has remained comparatively deserted. On the present occasion it was alive with Natives and Europeans, drawn from a! 5 parts of the surrounding country, to welcome His Excellency, who debarked under a salute from the* frigate, and with all the honor? ) duc on such an occasion. On landing, His Excellency was* received by the gentlemen composing, the public of the settlement, including the Chief Tamati Waka, the staunch friend of the Europeans; aud proceeded to

the bouse of the Resident Magistrate, where a levee was held, which was numerously attended by both Europeans and Natives; and the following, among other Native Chiefs, were presented to His excellency: Te Warihi Kobowal, Native Assc-ssor, | Mitai Pene Taui, Native Assessof. I Wircrou Te'fete, j Rewa, ! Te HoterencTawatawa, Native Assessor, | Mangonui Kerei, Native Assessor,. i Te llira-Pure,: Nalivc Assessor, - ! Iliriui Nene, j Parata Pituriri, Native Assessor. After this presentation the Chiefs had an j audience with the Governor in . front of! Waka's bouse, at whieh many coniplimen- I tarv speeches were made. Several Chiefs spoke, and one and all welcomed His Excel-j lency, and expressed the pleasure it afforded j them to have an opportunity of communica-1 ting personally with the representative of; Her Majesty th:; Queen of Great Britain; and of making a public avowal m his presence of j iheir resolution to acknowledge Her! Sovereignty and to obey Her laws in future. ■ Iu token of this they had determined to re- | erect the flag-staff which bad been cut down ' in the days of their ignorance;—and hoped to carry out their iuteutiou. during His Excellency's stay. A. spar, 70 feet long and 2 feet in diameter at the butt, bad been prepared, which was to be curried up the Maiki hill by 500 men so soon as all those who were expected to take.part in the ceremonev should arrive* Regret was expressed Cor the folly which had deprived the Ngapuhi of the advantage - of having a flourishing town in their midst; and Uis Excellency was urged, to promise that a new township should be formed in some eligible situation. Allusion was made to the fooiish project of setting up a Maori King,—which none of the Ngapuhi Chiefs were disposed to favor ; but which, they stated, had caused them to resolve on setting up the flug-staflr to shew all the tribes that the only sovereign the Ngapuhi are willing to acknowlege is the Queen of England. His Excellency replied to the speeches of' the Chiefs at some length;—thanking them fin- the reception they bad given him on Utis-his first \isit to their part of the cßuatry. We have not room iu this number to give the reply in ful ; but will do so iu the next Messenger, and conliuue the narrative of His Excellency's visit to the oilier settlements.. Tiie Chief M:»ihi Para one Kawili, sou of the old Chief Kawiti, once the determined

fenemy of the Government, did not arrive at Kororareka in time to lake part in Hie proceedings. lie however wailed upon llie Governor on board H.M.S. Iris the following morning; am!, with Wiremu Pohe and Henare to Tiiaha, lia:1 a long interview with him, at which he explained that, as the leader and representative of the partv who were once opposed 10 the Government, he wished on their behalf to convey to His Excellency the expression of thein desire to make amends for past errors, by replacing the.flag-siaff 011 ihe spot where ii had stood when cut down by Hoke; and also lo offer a psrve of land at Te K iwakawa, as a peaceoffering,—to be given and received in token of complete reconciliation ami perfect amity between themselves and the Government. Willi respect .to. (he township, he did not presume lo dictate lo His Excellency, who would be the bsst judge as to ihe most eligible position;—bui he hoped that the offer of theliawakawa would not be rejected, though found unsuitable lor a iownsite,~as he was more anxious about receiving the assurance of reconciliation with the Government than about a townslrp. lie was anxious that His Excellency should land again in lv»rorareKa 011 his return from visiting the other'-settlements. His Excellency, as Her Majesty's repre-j seuiative, accepted ihe assurances of loyally ujkJ attachment to the Government which Maih» had been deputed to convoy to him; i an 1 expressed his approval of the determi-i nation of himself and his people to replacej the fl g-slaff; especia-lly as it had originated! entirely with themselves and was to be car-1 ! ;eJ into effect by themselves, lie was happy to assure Maihi and his tribe that the past was forgotten ; and that ihe Ngapuhi now possessed the confide'nee of ihe Government and were looked upon as friends. At the conclusion of the interview a Native spear was presented by Maihi, and accepted bv His Excellency, in token of friendship and alliance;—and the former proceeded lo NW.tangi, to await the arrival of the Governor at lhat place. In our last number we inserted a letter from the Kev. I\:wai te Ahu, asking for information respecting ihe objects and imention of the "New Zealand Native Reserves Act, ISoG" passed by the Geucral Assembly,

and which was published in the Karere for October in that year. We now give the reply sent to him; in order that our Maori readers generally may understand the object of that law, and how it is intended to be brought into operation for their benefit. 9 Auckland, Dec. 28, 1857. Friend Riwai,—Silutaiions to you. Your letter of the 6th November has been received, and the Governor has seen it. His Excellency has desired me to write you an answer explaining the matters to which your questions refer. The Governor approves of your letter, and is pleased with the clearness of your thoughts. You are right,friend; the system of the Maories wiib respect to their tenure of land is one of confusion, but that of the Pakeha is clear;—it is clear both for himself while living, and for those who succ&d after his decease. The intention of the " New Zealand Reserves Act" is this: io lay down rules for the management of those lands which have been reserved, for the Maories, in order that they may not be allowed to lie waste, but be made to yield some return. The Governor appoints a Comiqission to which the management of these lands is to be entrusted for the benefit of the Blaories; that is. they may lease, sell, or otherwise dispose of such lands; and the money derived therefrom is to be applied by them for the benefit of those persons to whom the land belonged, on account of which the. money is received. The poisons forming the Commission are to be appointed by the Governor; some to be Pakcbas and -6onie Maories. With respect to these reserves, siomeof them are lands which have been set apart by the Government. There are a number of this description at Wellington, Nelson and other places; lands which have been vested in the Queen before being reserved for!ln Maories; These will at once be handed oter to the Commissioners for their management. Others of these reserves are lands excepted by the Maories themselves out of block i sold by them to the Government. These are held under ttie native tenure; not having been acquired by the Queen. They" cannot therefore be managed according to the provisions of this Act unless consent is given in the first place by the people -to whom they belong. The Governor will appoint persons to ascertain the consent of the parlies to whom these reserves belong ; who

will report lo him accordingly ; after which, the land may be made over to the Queen, and subjected lo the management or the Commissioners we have spoken of. This letl«r will not contain an explanation of all the provisions of this Act; but you had belter refer again to the 'Maori Messenger' of October 1856. Mr. McLean a!so is £oing to your part, and he will explain anything else to >ou. The ' Messengers* of March and June of this year speak upon a different subject; they refer to those large tracts of unsold land in the possession of the Manries, who are there advised to adopt the European -system of dividing their land into separate portions for eac4i individual. That which confirms the land to the Europeans is the writing of the Queen, that is, the Crown Grant. The land must first be acquired by the Queen before it can be given by. her to an individual, and her Crown <irant issued. The land cannot be secured to any one, unless the Maori lille is first extinguished. It is better that the land should in the first place be acquired by the Queen, and all uncertainty about title cleared away ; then it can be rightly conveyed to any person, and confirmed to him for ever. There are other things in connection with these mailers which your friend Mr. McLean will explain to you. This is all, From your friend Tbos. H. Smith.