The New-Zealander. SATURDAY, JULY 10, 1847.

New Zealander, Volume 3, Issue 116, 10 July 1847, Page 2

The New-Zealander. SATURDAY, JULY 10, 1847.

Be just and fear not: Let all the ends thou aims't at, be thy Country's, Thy God's, and Truth's.

" C'est pire qu'un crime ; c'est une faute." In our last Saturday's article, in speaking of the treaty of Waitangi, and of the manner in which it hud been Hitherto interpreted by all parlies immediately concerned, we were obliged, for want of room, to confine ourselves to instancing the repeated recognitions of its validity at home* But with respect to those persons who first

interpret the treaty to Suit their own views, and deny in the same breath that it has any binding force at all, that it can be anything more than " a device to amuse savages"— with some inconsistency, attempting at once to traverse and demur — with respect to them, we used these words. "Are there any in England so little informed as to suppose that this treaty was entered into by the Maories without forethought or caution j that they jumped At an opportunity of " making their mark ;'' and that signatures of influential chiefs at the Bay were bought for as many blankets'? The New Zealanders "a people not competent to become parties to a treaty 1" If that be what they dream at home, we can send them from hence another tale/* We will now, by their permission, tell them, or rather remind them, of a pot tion of that - tale ; presently to ask how it chimes in with their notions of English honesty* or rfgrees with their fashion of keeping a solemn and distinct engagement. We must premise, that we are sorry that the limits of a Newspaper article cannot contain the whole history of the affair ; at all events any more than a bare outline, so far already too well known to bear repeating. ~ We could wish to see written a fuller account of this famous meeting thau has yet appeared; for Captain Hobson's sketch, graphic as it is, does not do justice to the patience, the capability, the extreme caution— only overcome at last by a sudden impulse of generous feeling — which the Natives there displayed. So long as the bargain-driving was going on, they were more than a match for us,* and remain so to this day ; their suspicions were not to be argued out of them, for we had not good enough argument to offer. It Was the frank and genial bearing of Captain Hobson that gradually won' them' round, and caused them, so soon as an appeal was made to their better feelings by Nene, our trustiest and oldest ally, to cast aside all peddling stipulations, and to throw themselves without reserve upon ihe truth and honour of " their father, the Governor.' 1 And this faithful trust it is now,- on authority of a Doctor Arnold", purposed to betray ! For an account of the preliminaries to the treaty ; for the mauner in which thediscussion was conducted ; and for the fervent assurances of Captain- Hobson, that they might implicitly rely on his ssiueerity'and on Her Majesty's honour, we refer to'his own well-known despatch; our present object being only to place once more on record those parts of the transaction which, relate more: immediately to the Native lands, and to the British vouchers for the security of their tenure ; that? we may bat even the sorry excuse of forgetfulneafc from those who advocate thisnhreatened breach, of faith. At Waitangi, at Kaitaia, even down so far as Cloudy Bay, the fear that their lands would be taken from them' was the one string harped upon by the Chiefs ; the universal, never varying reason given for their reluctance to sign. Wherever the treaty was carried to obtain their assent, the same jealousy and mistrust on that particular point was exhibited, the same assurances reiterated, and, for the' most part; the same trustful confidence ultimately khivia in the promise of the Queen. Is Rewa Rewa's pointed question to Captain Hobson, so soon forgotten 1 ? Did'he not* ask iv the name of the principal Chiefs of the Bay of Islands there' assembled, Teraia, Pomare, Kawiti, and the rest, what was the meaning of the six mounted police frdm New South Wales in the Governor's suite, and whether he intended' to bring down more soldiers upon • them ? " For," said he, "if you do, you will make slaves of us, and take our lands from us.'' To this Captain Hbuson answered, that "they were his servants." The -Missionaries' also endeavoured to turn off the question, by proceeding to oilier subjects. Only a fe»v of the' chiefs who were Christians, spoke- in favour of the cession. So strong, indeed, was the opposition, that alter three hour's Korero, Capt. Hobson folded up the treaty, saying, that if this were his reception, he had better retnrn to Sydney. Upon which, he, with most of the Europeans piesent, retired to the house of Mr., Busby, the resident; nor was it until some, time after, when Nene Waka, with some of his friends, came down to the house to request* them to return, that the negotiation was resumed. This was in February. But many who had signed under the influence of Waka's eloquence, afterwards began to find- misgiving creep upon them ; and in April, chiefs fromKaikohe, Tyamia, Waitangi, and the vicinity of Waimate, waited on the Governor to express their Jears. " Our hearts are-dark and gloomy from what Pakehns have told us. They say, that the Missionaries first came to pave the way for the^ English who have sent the Governor here,* that soldiers will follow them, and then he will* take away your lands and shoot you, which is easy, as the Missionaries by making you Christians have unfitted you for defending yourselves." The Governor, in answer, pointed out the reason for these men so speaking. He told them that he was commanded by the Queen to prevent them from selling all their lands to white men ; that instead of coming to take them away, the Queen would only buy such lands from them as they did not require

They listened with great attention; one among them having expressed his belief in the Governor's words, ended by saying, " Our hearts are made light by the words of the Kawana." The same evening, Nene called, to take counsel with " his father, the Governor," to tell him that the wicked Pakehas were endeavouring to inflame the minds of the Natives against him. In their graphic mode of speaking by gesture, he made marks on the ground with his finger, and said, " they tell us the English will plant themselves around the Natives thus," pointing to the marks, "and then sweep us away," suiting the action to the word, by pressing his hand in a sweeping motion. "But," he said, " I believe your words. I have found truth in the English Gentlemen (Rangatiras). We cannot help relating what passed the next day, although it does not strictly bear upon the subject now in hand. More Kaikohe and Hokianga chiefs came to see the Governor, and to " open their hearts" to him. They told a similar story of the inflammatory •peeches of white men ; and said that some Frenchmen had told them that the English extirpated the natives in every country tv which they came, and had done so in Australia and all over the world ; but that the French never did ! ! One of the mos>t remarkable meetings held for the signature of the tieaty, was that at Kaitaia — remarkable in New Zealand for its importance, and in England for the elegant figure by which Nopera expressed the word, " Sovereignty," the result of his night's reflexion on Mr. Puckeys explanation of the term. *' The shadow of the land is to the Queen, but the substance remains with us." A poet might have been proud of an idea so beautiful and expressive. We have before us all the speeches made by the different chiefs at that meeting, literally translated by Mr. Puckey, who acted as interpreter. That of Nopera, by far the best, we omit, being well known ; two or three of the others, which we have not seen in print, it may be worth while (o give, showing how invariably their ideas turned on one and the came point, the quiet possession of their lands ; and likewise the address of Mr. Shortland, containing the usual declaration and promises of our Government at the time. He said that the Queen had often been solicited by the chiefs of New Zealand to s>end them a Governor ; that J>he had at leiigth cohsented to their wishes, and had sent them a Governor to introduce the blessings of a regular Government and British laws and institutions, and to protect them from white men who' had latterly come in such numbers to their shores, many of whom being lawless men might injure them. That the Quceu would not interfere with their native laws or customs, but would appoint gentlemen to protect them and prevent them from being cheated in the sale of their lands That Her Majesty was leady to purchase such as they did not require for their own use, to dispose of again to her subjects who she would take care were respectable men who would not injure them. He besought them not to listen to the falsehoods of designing men, ■whose only aim was to bring them into trouble, but to believe that what lie said was the truth, aa they would ultimately see. This, be it recollected, was the farce —if our rulers should now will it to have been a faree — played wherever the authorities could find a scene. The Treaty of Waitangi was then read to the assembly by Mr. Puckey, snd the chiefs were invited to express their opinions. Among the various speeches We first select that of Tiro. " I say yes for the Queen. Although others may disapprove of the Governor, I will approve of him. I wish to hold firm to the Governor. If he comes to take the land 1 will not have him, but if he comes as a shepherd, I will have him. You will say, What makes me speak thus ? I answer, my heart. Much land has been bought round about by the Pakehas. Let it not be said that the land will be taken by the Governor, it has been disposed of before. 1 have spoken." After Tiro, Mahanga spoke. " Let all our sayings be one ! The Governor has taken no land ; it has been sold and taken before ; my heart and thoughts are with the Governor. I say, yes ! yes ! yes !" Hupapa was averse to the cession. "The Governor, according to report, comes to kill all the people in the land, and to take it to himself. I never knew the meaning of the Treaty (Puka puka) before; a different ex planat : on had been given by those who had heard it read. It is said that a great many Pakehas' are coming to take the land ; that they come not for our good ; that the soldiers have come here to shoot us ; and many sitting round here think that the Governor has not come as a shepherd. It is said that Messrs. Puckey and Matthews know what is to become of us, but will not tell us. I have no more to say." We might accumulate testimony at pleasure to the arguments with which the treaty was pressed upon the Natives by the Crown, and of the convictions under which they signed, but that in this country it would be 1 superfluous— familiar as daylight; and in England, perhaps; discredited, But we are

still tempted to wind up the" case by quoting i one passage from a well-known work, the force of which is doubled, by the acknow ledged avidity of the Aborigines, with respect to gifts. "To shew how much these people have I been harassed about their lands, and how jealous they are of preset ving this species of property, they all objected to receive presents alter signing f le<t by some quibble it might be construed into a payment for its surrender, until they were repeatedly assured to the contrary. | In ihe very teeth of all this, we are presented with the crude, indigent instructions o Earl Grey, directing a seizure, registry, and appropriation of nearly the whole country at one swoop. Crude and indigest, because they might be picked to piece 9 by any man of twelve month's experience in the country ; because they might be made to nullify themselves by simple ontrast of their opposite provisions; inconsistent, within; and unsuiluble, without; framed in careless ignorai.ce of past events and present circumstance; at once involving the safely of the Colony, and the credit of the Queen. And what would have been the fit course for our Governor to lake ? Would it not rather have been to take the highest ground ; instantly, upon the very receipt of them, to proclaim tliut he would be no party to such a measure ; to declare, with manly franKness, that the whole was a mistake, arising from ignorance of the Home Minister as to the nature of the Queen's engagements here ; to have averted liom his Mistress the slightest breath of that suspicion which now attaches her royal faith. We have no fear of his intentions, as far as mere intentions go ; we feel sure that he will do what is right—at last; but meanwhile il> gathering all 'the mischief of delay. Let him speak out, even now ; for his own sake as well as for ouis — to free himself from the slenderest imputation ol connivance to a fraud. Where justice is to be done, or a soilure of the purity of faith removed, a high-minded man is not to be restrained by motives of policy or expediency ; he is unable — much less is he inclined— to watch his convenient time with the cold-blooded stillness of inaction. We all know that Captain Grey has self-es'eem ; let him shew us that he has self tespect likewise : he shall have full credit for the quality, and haped measure of thanks for the proof of it. Captain FitzRoy, whose many errors weie half redeemed by his chivalrous spirit and unselfishness — always ready to risk rebuke from home, even recal, for the sake of the interests of the colony — would have thrown himself at once gallantly into the breach : the honest impulse of his heart would have taught him a more brilliant policy, would have placed him on more commanding ground than the calculation of hia successor has baen able to reach. For Captain Grey has missed his chance; such a chance as occurs only once in a lifetime; an inetrievable occasion. Instead of snatching at the opportunity — abso luteiy a free gift of Fortune to him — of shewing his independence in a cause whose intrinsic merits mnst have borne him through triumphantly; he has let slip the golden moment, and may now regret at leisure what is past recal. We say that he might have made himself the idol of the Maories, standing between them and the Queen's mistake, the uncompromising protector of their rights, as well as the avenger of their misdeeds ; that he might have forced, in spite of bye-gone griefs, well merited respect from ourselves, which, if hitherto charily conceded, is by so much the better worth. It' is" a proud position that he has lost ; and ail for want ol eye. He can reason, he can combine and construct, with more than ordinary acuteness; give him time, and he will work out his conclusion ; he will follow his game with the sureness of the slow- hound, never losing the scent; but the quality of genius, is to see. ! "What was there, after all, to have hindered .him from taking the tide at the flood ? Because he is " Unwilling to publish a reflexion on Earl Grey !" Really this is too much. So we are to suffer, that Earl Grey's feelings might be spared. For what is the Governor placed here among us ?— to nurse the'prosperity of the colony, or the feelmgs of a Secretary of State ?— Has he not forgotten that he owes a duty to his Queen, unjustly accused, as well as to Earl Grey ; and what perhaps has least entered his thoughts, a duty to ourselves. Has he not forgotten that he owea'a duty to himself, when he exposes himself to the misconstruction of postponing his care for the Queen to his care for a dispenser of the Queen's favours. He has thrown away his own luck and our good name to spare Earl Grey ; and that with such generous delicacy, that he afreets to seem unaware of the greatness of the sacrifice. But all this while the poison is at work, spreading, with mischievous activity, on every side; It is little matter; it is only the colony that suffers; our own loss'of character, of moral influence among our new fellow-sub-jects must .weigh as nothing in the one scale, when delicacy towards Earl Grey is placed in the other. But we are wrong to call it delicacy ; iqueam'ishness'is the name ; if a Secre-

tary of State has made a blunder, he must be content to hear of it ; for such hearing may possibly lessen the number of those to come. The Governor declines to make proclamation of his dissent; but will have no objection to mention it, indirectly as it were, upon an occasion that will presently arise. What peaking policy is here? It is not by such trifling manoeuvres, such hole-and-corn r government aa this, that states are ruled. It is a remnant of the old school of diplomacy, long since decrepid, and now fast tending to extinction. He is overcome by his own passion of secretivencss ; an excellent and most | politic quality, without doubt, when it can be thrown aside at pleasure ; but as dangerous as any of its brethreu, when it once gains the i upper hand. The mask should be worn to preserve the complexion ; not to hide it all the four and twenty hours round. And yet, with all this morbid disinclination to declare his mind, with all this wakeful fear ! of committing himself, he has something yet to learn in state craft. In spite of his practice of mysiery, he is not yet master even of thai. " Folio sclolto, pensieri stretti," say the greatest known proficients in the art; for the real master of mystery passes fur a free-spoken man. No one watches him ; no one suspects him ; he not only hides his secret, but likewise "bides that he has it to hide." We are sorry if we should have seemed severe, or be thought to have struck for the sake of sinking. Our wish is to make no enemies, to wound no man's feelings. But there is too much at stake upon this question ; and we are forced to throw overboard that reserve in speaking of individuals which the courtesies of' society generally demand. Such an emergency as this is not the moment" for nice weighing ol sentences; or the study of conventional proprieties. \\ c are sorry to have even the semblance of opposition thrust upon us. It is not our vocation, either by nature, education, or habit. We aie ill at ease in the position, which is of all others the most distasteful to our feelings and prejudices. " Errare possum, hereticus esse uolo." Yet it is but semblance, after all. Opposition is the 1 espousal of a party ; but on this question there is unanimity ,- — of all but one— we ourselves at least have not yet seen another. Men of all grades, of all persuasions, of all interests (tor the Company's are null up here), all of one mind about the matter. Why shonld the Governor still contend against us ; wasting his personal influence for the sake of supporting an opinion in which fie stands almost alone. Let him redeem the lost time, as far as in him lies. Let him overcome the natural promptings of man's heart to kick against that which is urged upon him, and at once make public a vindication of English honesty among the people we are professing lo civilize and reclaim. He owes it to us, and owes it to them alike.

Places of Worship for the Natives. — We have great pleasure in giving insertion to the following Circular, and in promoting, as far as lies in our power, the object lor which it is issued. We are glad to see that provision is being made both by the Episcopalians and by the Wesley aus ior the Church accommodation of the Natives, who coming from a distance, must otherwise have been loitering obout the town during the whole of the Sabbath.

AN APPEAL TO THE INHABITANTS OF AUCKLAND, soliciting their asslstakce towards the erection of a native church in auckland, with the sanction and undkr the direction! of the Lord Bishop of New Zealand. Christian Friends, This Appeal is made to you on the following simple grounds, viz :— • I. As the means which are employed for the" Moral and Spiiitual Improvement of the Native population do all tend to promote their general well-being, so as certainly do they lead, at the same time, to the establishment of an enduring state oi order, peace, and comfort throughout the Christian community at large. From the nature of our posiiion, and intercourse with the Aborigines, our moral and religious interests are, indeed, thus deeply influenced by theirs, and theirs by ours. In short, it is highly probable that one link will eventually hold the condition of both races, whether in the growth of Truth and Virtue, or in that of error and corruption. Hence it becomes both our duty and our privilege, to support whatever is calculated to improve either Europeans or Natives in morals and religion. If for example, we wish to enjoy in quietness the sacrtd hours of the Lord's day, andT)e free from all such outward disturbances as might arise on the part of the Natives in the streets, we, shall be prepared to lend a kindly aid in the erection of a Church for them, wherein they may assemble for the worship of God, and " lor instruction in righteousness." 11. Such a Church, for the Native people, will prove at once an ornament to Auckland, and a lasting monument of our good feeling towards them. We shall hereby give them a substantial proof of our interest in their reul welfare ; and they, on the other hand, will be very ready to point to it, and say— "See j the Pakehas love our nation ; they have assisted us in building a Church." HI. In a political point of view, also a Native Church in Auckland, will be of no small advantage. It will stand like a moral garrison, to protect the interests of both races. And, as natives resort to Auckland, from various parts ot the island, they will find in the midst of us such a centre ot attraction, as will not fail to endear both the town and its inhabitants to their minds; for the place where men worship God must ever have attached to it an idea of peculiar sanctity. IHs only on principles of this kind tliat a"happy and permanent amalgamation of interests, between Europeans and Natives, can ever be reasonably expected. Your liberal-, ity, therefore, towards the erection of a native church,' will be wisely bestowed. IV. Since it has pleased God to continue to us 'such a large share of peace and security, almost indeed without interruption, — our commerce, too,, with the Abo'riginei having been from the beginning, «n a steady

advance,—would it not lie w.ell to consult our Christian feelings, whether it has not now become an imperative duty that we should make some offering of thanksgiving to Almighty God for what we have enjoyed ? Hovr could we make this offering with greater acceptance, or in a more grateful manner, than by consecrating a portion of what He has given us, to His service, in aiding the natives—a people among whom we have been preserved, prospered, and blessed—to erect a Church for themselves in Auckland 1 Y. That the Christian liberality of the inhabitants of Auckland is now appealed to, for the first time, on behalf of the natives, is a fact woi ihy to be observed* For this reason, among others, it is confidently hoped that the present appeal will meet with its deserved success. " GIVC, AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN UNTO YOU." Kohi-Marama, 30th June, 1847.

Ball at Government House.—We learn th t cards of invitation to a Ball have been issued by lust Excellency the Governor and Mrs. Grey, for Friday the 16th inst. The party had been twice postponed before ; first, on account of the forced departure of his Excellency for the south, and then again on account of his continued absence. From the early announcement of it after the Governor's return, it is clear that he has been desirous that the people of Auckland should enjoy the additional pleasure qf meeting the officers of the 65th regt., who are so shortly to be removed. It is not improbable, as the Pestonjee Bomanjee was to sail from Sydney on the 1st instant, that Mr. Eyre himself, who had taken his passage by that vessel, might be likewise present on the occasion. Legislative Council.—We learn that our respected townsman, Mr. Brown, has been, called upon to resume Ins seat in the Legislative Council. We trust that the activity of the honorable member, once so conspicuous in the sittings of that assembly, will not be found to have been impaired by his recent visit to England*, AucklANd Savings' Bank.—Mr. Dilworth and Mr. Shepherd, the accountant and trustee in rotation, will attend this evening, from 7 to 8 o'clock, at Mr. Monteftore's store, to receive deposits; and Dr. Campbell and Mr. Outhwaite, will be in attendance on Monday next, 28th inst., from 12 to 1 o'clock, orenoon.