N.Z. COLONISATION

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 497, 3 April 1933, Page 3

N.Z. COLONISATION

HISTORIC CHARACTERS SPEAKERS PAY TRIBUItEi TO WORK OF JAMES BUSBY. "MAN OF WAR WITHOUT GUNS."Much interesting historical information concerning the' colonisation of Niew Zealand was giVen by Mr. Hal Williams in an informal speech delivered at the inaugural dinner of "New Zealand Day" at the Savoy Hotel in London on February 8. Mr. Williams dealt with the pioneer work done by Archdeacon Henry Williams and James Busby, both historical characters in the annals of New Zealand. One could, therefore, talk of thern quite impersonally, he said, and it was as a New Zealander keenly interested in the history and fortunes of his country and not as their grandson th'at he chose to speak of them on the anniversary of the signing of the treaty for which, in a large measure, they were jointly responsible. "James Busby has been' a good deal misunderstood hy some wrihsrs on New Zealand history," said Mr. Williams. "His father, John Busby, was an Alnwick man, a civil engineer of some di'stinction. His last job over h'ere was to engineer the coach road from Perth to Inverness, which is still in use, and whien in 1823 he wias appointed chief engineer to the New South Waleg Government, he . gave Sydney its fii'st water supply. Busby's mother was a Kennedy of Culzean. Cassilis station in New South' Wates was the Government grant to John Busby, and it has remained in the family ever since. "James Busby's work in introducing the vine into Australia has been told elsewhere, and the centenary of the event was celehrated in London last year when some correspondence bearing on the matter a.pepared in the Times. A Foreign Country. In 1833, went on Mr. Williams, 10 years after Busby had landed in Australia, and 10 years after Henry Williams, with his wife and young family, landed in New Zealand, Busby was appointed British Resident hy the British Government, and aecredited to the Matori chiefs. As New Zealand was regarded officially as a foreign country, he was given authority but no force with which to back it up. He had to rely, therefore, on his own personality. This, though strong, was, of course, entirely inadeqnate in the very disturbed state of the country. Despite this, he carried considerable influence and authority, particularly with the Maoris, whose language he soon mastered. It had heen Avritten that, "with kindly contempt," they duhbed him the "Man of W ar without Guns." "I very much doubt the contempt," said Mr. Williams. "Maoris are very fond of these meta.ph'ors; their language, which pnssesses a great vitality, is full of them. Al] Maori narnes have a meaning. Henrj

Williams was called "William Four Eyes" hecause he wore glasses. Waitangi means 'Crying Water' from the noise made by the falls. "What more natural th;an *that Busby should be called a 'Man of War without Guns,' because he was a Government official without means of enforcing his power? The very last feeling that .anyone who knew Bushy could entertain for him would be contempt. You h'ave only to look at his portrait to see that he was not a man to he trifled with. My elder brothers have told be that though they found is fruit delicious they h'ave reason to remember that this w.as sso! Attempt on Busby's Life. "When in 1834 an attempt was made hy the Maori slaves of a certain chief to pillage his house, and Busby was shot at but fortunately missed, thought slightly wounded hy a splinter — I myself have seen the bullet imbedded in the weatherboarding — the other chiefs rose up, and, as satisfac- , tion or utu for the outrage, stripped the owner, a rath'er trouhlesome : char.acter, of his slaves, land, and possessions." Bu'shy tried iri vain to get the BritiSh Government of the day to declare a protectorate over New Zealand, went on Mr. Williams. He saw clearly, that if England did not take it another nation would, and when England continually refused he brought a number of the Maori chiefs together and 'got them to ent'er into a declaration of their own nationality, the Confederation of the United Trihes of New Zealand, referred to in the Treaty, hoping thus to ward off the then threatened annexation hy th'e French. This i action was formally approved by the 5 British Government of the day, and the flag was saluted with 21 guns by H.M.S. Alligator. It was the hest he could do, and it is interesting to note ■ that the then national flag of the confederation is now th'e house flag of the Sbaw, Savill and Albion Company. J In the 'thirties of last century much r emharrassment was being caused to the British Government by land specu- = lators in New Zealand, but the. Government was still unwilling to act. In 1839 Lord Normanby succeeded Lord Glenelg at the Colonial Office. As the result of further dispatcbes from Busby and others, and good work by Mr. Coates of the Church Missionary Society, annexation, subject to the consent of the Maoris, was decided upon as the only solution. Captain Hobison - was sent out with detailed instructions. "The Treaty waS signed, and we are h'ere, and not in Paris, remarked Mr. Williams. Henry Williams' Work. Touching hriefly upon the work of ' Henry Williams, the speaker remarked that his life was. full of incident. He travelled extensively trying _ to make peace hetween the warring Maori tribes, and establishing mission Stations. He seemed to have horne a .' charmed life,' for although he was .frequently in the thick of the fighting, and though the Maoris were then rotten shots, ■ no bullet ever touched him. He wais responsible for founding Auckland on the. Waitemata; he was the first European to travel overland from Wanganui to Tauranga, and' his influence with the Maori chiefs was •almost supreme. •" "These two men," concluded Mr. Williams, "welcomed Captain Hdhson and his mission. Bushy drafted the treaty ; Williams and his , son trans•lated it. They both exp-lained its proyisions to the tribes, and ux-ged their v acQeptance. Etad either of them lifted

a finger or uttered a word against it the Treaty would' never have heen signed. It seemiS' to nie only fitting therefore, that we should honour theii memory ,and on behalf of their descendants I thank you for having done so."