MAORI MEMORIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 January 1939, Page 8

MAORI MEMORIES

DUAL CONTROL (Recorded by J.H.S. for “Times-Age.”) In 1860 the Maoris looked upon British rule under a Royal Sovereign as an ideal government “by agreeing” (Ahua reka) and decided to elect the old cannibal warrior Tawhiao to the Maori throne. He disclosed little, if anything at all of his foreign or domestic policy, except in the one question of importance to the Maori race, “The land is the source of life, to part with it means the -death of our race. All prior and future sales (hoko) are now rejected (whaka kino).”

The turbulent tribes of Waikato saw in this a direct challenge to their powerful thousands to raid the rich and defenceless village of Auckland and convert it into “The King’s Palace?’

The official reports to British Parliament were strangely inconsistent with the local conditions. The grave faults of the Colonial government were typicaly negative. There could, be no blame for what they had' done, only what they had not done amounted to gross neglect. Of course this was not reported, to the Foreign Secretary in England. The decent class of early settlers spoke of the Maoris in terms of friendship and esteem. The ex-convicts and lower dregs among deserters from whalers and sailors gave the Maoris grave cause to suspect us, yet on the whole the relationship between the two races was ideal!

The Maoris enjoyed and appreciated the advantage of having all Government proposals on their behalf scrutinised by the Bishop and early missionaries of New Zealand.

Yet exactly as it is in 1938 with our many traffic rules and regulations, there was no attempt to apply the laws to the Maoris or to govern them. All because we feared to antagonise them —a fatal blunder.