To the Editor of the “Wanganui Chronicle.”

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 4, Issue 210, 27 September 1860, Page 5 (Supplement)

To the Editor of the “Wanganui Chronicle.”

Sept. 25, 1860. Sir,— Your correspondent, Watchman,” in impression 20th instant, states the object he has in view in addressing you “is to endeavour to find out in what; way,, or for what reason, Mr. Fox and Dr. Featherston have forfeited the confidence qf 3g any, of their constituents.” f: -

Believing that the reasons which influence me have also great weight with a large majority of the electors of this district in inducing us to withdraw our confidence,,.l here, in furtherance of “ Watchman’s ” object, append a few pf the facts on which such reasons are grounded. Part pf these relate to a period anterior to the surrender to her Majesty of the rights appertaining, to the late New Zealand Company ; the remainder of them to the time which has since elapsed,, The former mentioned are, — Ist. That in 1539 Colonel Wakefield, while negotiating with E Puni, at JVe llington, for the purchase of lands there, was importunately solicited by. that chief and by others, amongst whom prominently stood the present rebel Wiremu Kingi, to buy a block of land at Taranaki, in which was included those 600 acres of Waitara, which ICingi.now so unjustly claims. 2nd. That owing to this urgent solicitation, Colonel Wakefield, accompanied by Wiremu Kingi and by other natives, proceeded to Qneen Charlotte’s Sound, and having 'had with the proprietors fugitive from these Taranaki lands preliminary conferences, in which particulars of agreement for the sale of them were verbally arranged, much to the satisfaction of those proprietors, a day was appointed for signing the deed necessary to carry such agreement into effect. ’

3rd. That on such day a meeting was accordingly held, and the deed of purchase of the block of land, includiug this Waitara, was properly completed. 4th. That the first signature appended to that deed is that of the present, rebel Wiremu Kingi, for himself, and again for his father. sth. That early afterthis event Colonel Wakefield visited Taranaia, and found, living on the lands thus bought, about 80 individuals, comprising the whole of the , conquered natives not fugitive.

6th. That with these resident conquered owners Colonel Wakefield then dealt for the purchase of this block of land (including the Waitara),’ and thereon again paid for and received another title deed of it from them.

7th. - That Mr. Commissioner Spain, empowered by her Majesty to make investigations into and final awards on, all claims to Land in New Zealand, after dismissing various claims affecting other lands, had brought before him the claim to this Taranaki block for his final award thereon.

Bth. That her Majesty’s Commissioner, after a most searching investigation, awarded this Taranaki block, including Waitara, to the British claimants, stating it to have been by them in a manner perfectly right and proper, fairly, justly, and fully purchased.

9th. That Jiavin.g.. tints bought of the .resident and fugitive native owners generally, and, amongst individuals of them, of this rebel Wiremu Kingi in particular, the block of land of which the Waitara is but a small portion ; and having thus had their .title .to the land declared to have been fairly obtained, confirmed finally, as was directed, by her Majesty’s in tiuct’ons; the British claimants, — thus become owners, —whether from such award not meeting the approbation of. Governor Fitzroy, or from some other reason, took.an opportunity (I think in 1847) to conclude negotiations with the Waikato people, and by another purchase deed, signe,d, on the part of those conquerors of tribes by the /Faikato chief Te Whero Whero (Potatau, the deceased-head of the Land league) and others, bought the right, which, by native usage lay solely in fhem as conquerors, to the block of land so conquered, and as a consequence, to all privileges, Mana* and other, connected with it.

lOtb.- That by thus purchasing of the Fugitive—of the Itesideut—and of the Conquering proprietors, the title of the British owners had, by all construction warranted in common sense; ; by every recognized rule of justice, savage or civilized ; by that *• quintessence of reason,” law; and by every prin-

* The assertion may be with much confidence made, that a careful reading of the Treaty of /Faitangi, may warrant the conclusion, that wlUst their lands are secured to the natives, this mana, or sovereignty, may have been by it ceded to, her Majesty.

ciple of equity become, if not secure, as just as! every rule of right could make it. < 11th. That the licence subsequently taken i by this rebel Wiremu Kingi (in defiance of the expi-ess orders of Governor Grey), to return with 400 or 500 of his ? people, and occupy a portion of the block so sold, even though it had been either merely suffered or permitted by Governor Grey, cannot be construed to have the effect of Revesting in that rebel, any privilege, mana or otherwise, which, connected with this Waitara land, he may pretend—how truly his own declaration as under will show —to have been his right before the sale of it to the British in 1839. It will be readily allowed that a great amount. of talent, marked unhappily with.a bitterness not unnatural to result from the circumstances in which the Southern settlers were placed, was continuously brought, by means of a portion of the Public Press both in this colony and in the mother country, as well as by other varied means, to bear upon the facts which have been above cited ; upon those contingencies with which they were connected, and upon various other collateral events: That the fact, of this talent having been exercised, was not omitted to be remembered when the electors of Wanganui and Rangitikei gave, if not unanimously, yet effectively, support to the views initiated by Dr. Featherston aud Mr. Fox, there can be no doubt. But the comparison which the electors have made of tiie lines of argument, of the character of the reasoning, and in short of the general animus which distinguished the efforts then used, in support of the interests of the settlers with those whioh now have, so suicidally, the present antagonism to the fea&fcase efforts of His Excellency to relieve his Government from the incubus, transmitted to him and hereinunder, in part only, instanced, and which haduheretofore impeded the exercise of its proper functions and thus injuriously affected the prosperous growth of us all throughout the colony has convinced the electors generally, and will sufficiently indicate to “ Watchman” “■ in what way and for what reason Mr. Fox and Dr. Featlierston have forfeited the confidence of their constituents.”

Although His Excellency however just he may have considered the title to be of Her Majesty, to the Taranaki .Slock, has thought fit, from reasons there is no doubt of sufficient weight, not to take advantage of the position the three titles or either of them, to that land placed him, but probably from the fact that his predecessor had suffered considerable time to lapse in the occupation, however unwarrantable, by the natives of the block of land so bought, lias preferred—it may be the higher ground—to make an entirely new purchase of the small portion of it occupied by E. Teira, yet that such selection by the Governor neither lessens the validity of the purchase by the British owners; or renews any right which may at any time heretofore have existed in /Firemu Kingi; nor gives sanction to the pretence, whioh, in his determination to, at ary rate,. prevent all future land safes, he lias so audaciously assumed. *

Passing over the very disreputable, and deeply to be regretted details the various proceedings in such audacious assumption, of the venerable coadjutor, for the nonce, which our representatives have chosen let us proceed to the facts, patent to us all, which have taken place more lately and which we submit ought to have deterred our representative, as they do ourselves, from having part or parcel in supporting, either by argument or action, the pretensions of one, at least, of the authors of the bloodshed and ruin which, let loose upon our fellow-countrymen in the neighbouring province, may be but the forerunners of similar horrors in our own. These facts are,— Ist. That at a meeting held in 1854 at Manawapo by the Natives, and at which representatives from all the tribes between Waitara and Wellington were present, it was resolved, “That no more land be sold to the Pakeha, and that JFajtaha be the Pakelia’s final north boundary.” , 2nd. That at the same meeting a very strenuous attempt was made to get a resolution agreed to, “ that all lands already sold to the Pakeha be retaken, and that the Pakeha be exterminated .” In token of this resolution a tomahawk was passed from hand to hand of each representative present; but, finding that an influential chief was absent, and in a whare close by, Paratene te AKopara, since killed at YVaireka, carried the tomahawk to such chief, whose sfedfast refusal to. touch it, signifying

his determined resistance to this bloody scheme,, caused this resolution, for the time, to fall to the ground. 3rd. That the land-holding policy, agreed to as above stated, and theretofore enunciated by the rebel Wiremu* Kingi, has ever since been energetically adhered to by him, although he avoided being presenFat such meeting ; and that amongst the frightful crimes committed in his attempt to carry out such scheme, this rebel encouraged and abetted Katatore, who slew his near relative and superior Rawiri and his brother, when engaged, without arms, in. peaceably marking the lines of the land he had offered to sell to the government. ; 4th. That independent of‘any-negative . evidence, of which there is abundance, and independent of the direct affirmative evidence iso fully sustained by the three deeds of pur--jehase above cited, the fact, that in the answer ijto the inquiry, “ Does the land belong to E [ Teira and party ?” addressed to Wiremu iLKingi, March 1860, and referred to above, he ( declared, “ Yes, the land is theirs; hut I will not let them sell it and finished by stating, “ I will take it, and cultivate it myself,” must ; carry with it, to every unprejudiced mind, the most perfect conviction, > that no--claim whatever to the land in question exists on the part of that rebel.

sth. That, encouraged by those who by their conduct throughout the whole 1 - of this affair have heaped misery upon numbers of both races of their fellow-creatures, and depending upon his fancied control by ‘‘ might ” over “right,” this rebel has arrogantly attacked the sovereignty of her Majesty in this colony.

6th. And that in the words of the memorial which a large majority of the electors addressed to his Excellency (action in accord with the sentiments of which should have been boldly demanded in the General Assembly by our representative on the part of his constituents), we desire to express our warm approval of the policy pursued in the Native disturbances at Taranaki. We regard the ground on which his Excellency has taken up arms to be just and necessary, and respectfully assure his Excellency of our cordial support, should we be called upon, to measures calculated by a just and firm determination to convey a lesson to the disaffected, which may speedily end the present, and prevent future outbreaks of the Native population of thi3 island.”

In short, to sum up the reasons “ why Messrs. Fox and Featherston have forfeited the confidence of their constituents,” I would assert, that however fearlessly those gentlemen ■ may have expressed themselves in council, that most of us, their constituents, know certainly they have not expressed our opinions at oil, aud they must know this, from the memorial alluded to. We may say this, as the known ability of our representatives makes it unreasonable to suppose that they are ignorant that W. Kingi’s “mana” over Waitara was forfeited when that land was conquered by Waikato ; they know his present title to land at Waitara is derived simply from his own adverse occupancy, iu defiance of theTefusal of Governor Grey to sanction it, and is without “ mana.” We consider that if our representative and Superintendent had permitted honest political mptives alone to rule their political actions, they would not have allowed themselves to have been actuated by animosities, but would, from the commencement of the present phase of pur political existence, have worked with that amiable ehurchman Archdeacon Idadfield, so as to have caused him to have produced for the Governor’s information, and before the■ war had been going on for months, W. Kingi’s correspondence, {including the replies containing his own advice and counsel to that rebel) and which it is falsely stated made his right appear clear. The constituency of Wanganui consider that the war is just —that it should be carried on with vigour—^ and that the British settlers in New Zealand'have not lost- their British pluck, and will not tolerate a peace at any price because hitherto’their arms have not been successful ; nor will agree that their sister province shall, without redress, have suffered from those who have murdered her children and desolated her hearths. Our representative and Superintendent, not appearing . to hold these opinions, we desire to change them, and are unmindful by whom we be represented—by aristocrat or by democrat— so that we be represented. I am, Mr. Editor, Your most obdt. servant, A Voice from; the People.