HUNDRED YEARS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 December 1938, Page 4

HUNDRED YEARS

NEW ZEALAND’S FIRST CONS

ACTION TAKEN BY BRITISH GOVERNMENT. BUSBY FAILURE AS RESIDENT. On December 1, 1838,' a letter was despatched from , Downing Street, London, that had an important bearing on the future of ■ New Zealand Lord Glenelg, the Colopial Secretary, wrote to Sir George Gipps, Governor of New South Wales, .that it was "the intention of her 'Majesty’s Government to appoint an officer, who will be vested with the powers, and will assume the character of British Consul at New Zealand.”

Poor James Busby had been British Resident since 1832, and vested with no power to enforce his vague and anomalous authority, had done little except acquire the nickname of “the man-o’-war without guns.” Lord Glenelg was much more sympathetic to the ideas of the Church Missionary Society than to those of Edward Gibbon Wakefield and his friends in the New Zealand Association. Yet even he had come to recognise that some move must be made in the troublesome matter of New Zealand, already being colonised by adventurers in a wretched and scrambling manner that did as much harm to tne native population as the efforts of the missionaries did good. Then there were the French. Although Baron de Thierry was a gentleman with more ideas than practical ability and although he was French in little else but his name and title,.yet his grandiose attempt at founding a kingdom for himself in northern New Zealand did point to the fact that the country lacked any real and effective government. Busby had successfully united the qhiefs of the Hokianga and Bay of Islands districts into a “confederation” to resist the attempt of de Thierry to assume a sovereignty he had never been accorded.

WARSHIPS TO POLICE WATERS. The idea dominant in the rather prim mind of Lord Glenelg was to protect British interests rather than to assume the Government of the country. His letter to Gipps goes on to relate that he had made arrangements with the Admiralty for “the more' frequent visitation of New Zealand by one of her Majesty’s ships of war on the. Eastern station.” This was, in fact, an attempt to give to the new British consul the powers which had never been accorded to Busby. Lord Glenelg made it quite plain that there was no thought of promoting Busby to the new position James Busby had throughout his office as British Resident in New Zealand a very bad run of luck. He was sent out to a turbulent and very slightly civilised country with a highsounding title and no force to back it up beyond the distant and slow effect of a lacryrnose report to Sydney. In 1833 by way of house-warming, a party of natives made a night attack on his house. This was not very long after Mrs Busby's first confinement. Apparently the motive of the attackers was that “they were desirous of trying whether he had any power or not.” Then Busby was shot at from another angle. He had been appointed from England, but he -was paid from- the revenues of New South Wales. This was a grievance against him in Sydney. He was likely to do wrong in Australian eyes, whatever he did.

“NOT DEVIL ENOUGH.” What Busby did do was not always discreet. He had been advised to cooperate with the missionaries, and Captain Fitzroy. of H.M.S. Beagle, afterwards a Governor of New Zealand, criticised his reluctance to wield power indirectly througn these men who had acquired a widespread influence with the Maoris and had proved themselves able to get things done. Although Busby was on terms of courtesy with the missionaries, he exasperated them by his attitude to their attemped anti-liquor legislation of 1835, when he cast doubt on their power to make laws in Nev/ Zealand. As early as 1836 Busby had asked Governor Bourke of New South Wales for leave to go to England to put New Zealand affairs before the Government, stating at ihe time that he considered his office to be in abeyance. A more Machicevellian character might have made a better showing. As a wan-

dering Englishman said of him, “'He has not devil enough for the situation.” Busby, upright and honourable, was much more at home cultivating his vineyard —he was an ex- 1 pert on viticulture—and attending to ' ihe affairs of his small estate at Waitangi. Lord Glenelg’s letter invited Governor Gipps to let Busby know he was to be superseded and expressed a pious hope that a government job could be found for him in New South Wales. Afterwards, when Hobson’s appointment as Governor automatically displaced Busby, he preferred to remain in New Zealand as a private citizen. In his old age he was an inveterate pamphleteer and a fierce critic of colonial representative government. CAPTAIN HOBSON'S SECOND STING. Though at the end of 1838 Lord Glenelg had announced the imminent appointment of a Consul “at New Zealand,” it was to be many months before the British Governn.ent implemented its good resolution. The man whe was selected to be Consul was Captain Hobson. He came to New Zealand in January, 1840, with a Commission as Consul in his portfolio. But by that time the Government’s intentions were much more serious. Hobson’s Commission as Consul was only bis second string. His first duty was to trv to secure the cession of the country by the free desire of the chiefs, a difficult operation successfully completed in the negotiation of the Treaty of Waitangi. Thus Hobson could proclaim himself Governor at once and he was never called on to perform the much less exciting duties of Consul. Hobson’s career is another chapter in our history. Here, in this letter sent out to Australia on board the Asia in 1838 is the first indication of the British Government’s resolve to advance a step further in New Zealand rather than to retreat and leave the land to the Maoris, the missionaries, the traders and, most probably, the French.

5.0: Child! 6.0: Dinner i.V.-. 7.0: News. 7.28: Time signals. . 7.30: A ramble in the n<. - -4 by 7.40: Talk by Book Reviewer, Books.” 8.0: “The Sunshine Show’-’ (melody and rhythm?). 8.17: “Frank’s Personal Servant” (Japanese houseboy). 8.31: Donald Novis (tenor) with Eddie Dunstedler at the organ, “Charmaine”; “Angela Mia” (“My Angel”), (Rapee, Pollack). 8.37: Harry Owens and his Royal Hawaiian Hotel Orchestra, “Down Where the Trade Wind Blows” (Owens). 8.40: Talk, Professor Norman McKenzie, Professor of International Law, University of Toronto, “Canada in the Commonwealth.” 9.0: Weather report and station notices. 9.5: Wellington Harmonic Society; conductor, H. Temple White; accompanist, Esther Caigou. Madrigal, “Sister Awake” (Bateson); Old English Ballad, “The Bailiff’s Daughter of Islington”; folk ’ song, “The Laird o’ Cockpen’ (arr. Hugh Robertson): part song for female voices, “The Two Clocks” (Rogers). 9.15: Percy Grainger compositions, played by the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Ormandy, “Londonderry Air”; "Molly on the Shore,” Irish Reel, “Country Gardens,” “Shepherd’s Hey.” 9.27: The Harmonic Society, negro spiritual, “Talk About a Child that do Love Jesus” iWilliam J. Dawson); trio for female voices, “Sound Sleep” (Vaughan Williams); part song, “Vagabonds” (Eaton Fanning). 9.37: Edward Kilenyi (piano), Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15, “Venezia E Napoli No. 1 Gondoliera” (from “Annees de Peleriage”), (Liszt). 9.45: The Harmonic Society, part song, “The Pigtail” (Markham Lee); glee, “The Bells of St Michael’s Tower” (arr. Stewart); chorus, “The Faery Chorus," from “The Immortal Hour” (Rutland Boughton); part song, “Eventide” (H. Temple White). 9.55: The London Philharmonic Orchestra, “Naila” Intermezzo (Delibes). 10.0: Music, mirth and melody. 11.0: Close down. 2YC, Wellington. 840 k.c. 5.0: Light musical programme. 6.0: Close down. 7.0: After-dinner music. 8.0: Chamber music, featuring at 8 p.m., “Geister Trio,” No. 5, in D Major (Beethoven), played by the Concertgebouw Trio, Amsterdam; and at 8.28, Quartet in E Minor (Beethoven), played by the Budapest String Quartet. 9.0: An hour of variety, featuring, at 9.4 p.m., “Sandy Powell Joins the C.1.D.,’ and, at 9.34 p.m., “Dick Whittington,” produced by Our Village Pantomime Co. 10.0: In order of appearance, Erica _Mbrini (violinist), Lys Gauty (soprano), The Novelty Players (orchestra). 10.30: Close down. 2YD, Wellington. 990 k.c. 7.0: Rhythm Pie. 7.35: Robinson Crusoe. 8.0: Music of South America. 8.20: 2YD Singers. 8.40: Trailer. 8.45: “Khyber.” 9.15: Highlights from the Scores of the Internationals. 9.35: Musical Melange. 10.0: Close down.

IYA, Auckland. 650 k.c. 5.0: Children’s session. 6.0: Dinner music. 7.0: News. 7.30: “The Whirligig of Time,” talk, “Art (39)—Artists Who Accept Nature,” Mr A. J .C. Fisher. 8.0: “Westward Ho!” (Charles Kingsley’s novel), by George Edwards and Co. 8.15: Grace Adams East, American trumpet virtuoso. 8.31: Light Opera Company, “Memories of Lehar.” 8.39: Ilja Livschakoff Orchestra, Medley, “The Flower of Hawaii” (Abraham). 8.45: “Fourth Form at St. Percy’s.” 9.0: Weather report and station notices. 9.5: Talk, Mr Douglas Cresswell, “Marsden Arrives.” 9.20: Auckland Artillery Band, conducted by Captain George Buckley, “Tancredi” Overture (Rossini). 9.28: Cornet duet, accompanied by the Band, “Ida and Dot” (soloists,.Misses Doreen and June Churches), (Losey). 9.32: “Dad and Dave.” ' 9.45: The Band, “Gems of Sullivan” Sei. (Ord Hume), “The Mill in the Dale” (Cope), “Martial Moments” (Winter). 10.0: Dance music. 11.0: Close down.

3YA, Christchurch. 720 k.c. 5.0: Children’s hour. 6.0: Dinner music. 7.0: News. 7.20: Military talk. 7.35: Review’ of the Journal of Agriculture. 8.0: “The Case of the Mogal Emerald,” by George Edwards and Company. 8.40: J. H. Squire Celeste Octet, “Qperatica” (famous operatic melodies), (arr. Squire). 8.48: “Personal Column.” 9.0: Weather forecast and station notices.. 9.5: Talk, Dr. A. L. M. Perry, “Through Tropical Seas to England’s Shores.” 9.20: Dance music. 11.0: Close down. 4YA, Dunedin. 790 k.c. 5.0: Children’s hour (Big Brother Bill). 6.0: Dinner music. 7.0: News. 7.30: A Gardening Talk. 8.0: 4YA Concert Orchestra, conducted by Gil Dech, “Christmas Overture” (Coleridge Taylor). 8.7: Concerto Grosso in D, Op. 6, No. 1, for Strings (Corelli). 8.17: Walter Widdop (tenor), "Love in Her Eyes Sits Playing," “Love Sounds the Alarm” (Handel). 8.25: 4YA Concert Orchestra, “Sifonia in D” (Frederick the Great). 8.40: “Man Through the Ages”—4, "Cheops Builds a Pyramid.” 9.0: Weather report and station notices. 9.5: The Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Leopold Stokowski, Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 95 (Dvorak). 9.45: Elisabeth Schumann (soprano), “The Solitary One,” “A Dream of Spring” (Schubert). 9.53: The Philadelphia ' Orchestra, conducted by Leopold Stokowski, “Fete-Dieu A Seville” (Albeniz, arr. Sto- ’ kowski). 10.0: Music, mirth and melody. ; 11.0: Close down. ) Empire Programme. . i GSD, 25.53 m.; GSE, 25.29 m.; GSF, 19.82 m.; t GSO, 19.76 m.; GSI, 19.66 m. ’ 8 p.m.: Big Ben. “World Affairs.” Talk = by A. P. Newton, D.Litt. 8.15: Song recital by Norman Allin (bass). 8.40: “Sermons in P Stone,” Durham Cathedral. 9.20: "The Em--1 pire Follies” in “London Calling.” 9.50: The ~ news and anonuncements. 10.15: Close down.