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The Life and Times of Sir George Grey, K.C.B.

Chapter XX. — Grey's Departure From New Zealand—Feelings of Both Races

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Chapter XX.
Grey's Departure From New Zealand—Feelings of Both Races.

"Hail, mighty chief and brave! thy people's stay!
While sadness veils our spirits; go thy way!
Go hence, lamented by each circled throng,
Who now rehearse thy deeds in plaintive song.
Lo! when the battle raged at Hope's dell
Thy foes gave way, and famed Panui fell.
Proud Ahurei has said that he will fire
The tribes with zeal: but he may not aspire
To thy acknowledged greatness. No, the grave
Ere long will claim the youthful and the brave!
And, weakened thus, Te Puhi, with his band,
Will smite the remnant, and pass through the land."
(Translation of one of the farewell addresses to Sir George Grey from Maori chiefs.)

At length the time arrived when Sir George Grey was to bid farewell to New Zealand. From all parts of the North Island rose the lamentations of the Maoris upon the departure of "their friend, the Governor." Many deputations of native chiefs waited upon him. Of the first of these, Wi Maihi Rangikaheke was chosen to speak on behalf of the natives. The following account of the meeting is given by Mr. Davis:—"After sundry gesticulations and whispers among themselves as to how the performance was to be conducted, they broke out in full chorus, chanting the song with which the address opens. It was sung in a subdued tone, with great pathos, there being in this mournful melody an absence of those wild shrieks so grating to the ears of Europeans. As the last page 153words of the poetry died away, the Maori orator commenced the task allotted to him by reading the other portions of the address, which he executed in a masterly style. His movements were extremely graceful, and his emphasis good. While reading a certain clause in the address Rangikaheke broke off abruptly, took the mat that was thrown over his shoulder, and laid it at the Governor's feet; another was immediately placed with it by a native on the opposite side of the apartment, and while thus evincing their profound respect for the Governor, a deep silence pervaded the sorrowful throng, which was broken by the speaker resuming his oratory, and the whole was wound up by chanting the concluding song in the address.

"The exit of the deputation was as imposing as their entrance. They passed out of the room one by one, shaking hands with the Governor and bowing politely to him. Indeed, the whole affair is alike creditable to the intellect and affection of these inland chiefs."

Translation of Address.
Go, while the sun is shining,
Great shelter of our land;
Go, while the hearts are pining
Of this once savage band.

Go, while the winds are playing
In gusts above our head,
The while our hearts are saying,
"He's now to us as dead."

Go, and before the morrow
Gaze on the deep, dark sea,
And then these hearts in sorrow
Shall whisper, "Where is he?"

This is our farewell address to you, oh, friend Governor Grey:—

The chiefs and people of New Zealand, especially those of Rotorua*, let you go forth bearing their love. Suppose not, oh, Governor, that this affection for you is merely an outside thing. No, it conies from the inward recesses of the heart.

We hoped that your heart would rest here with us. Now, hearken. When the missionaries came first to this land there was little industry, and little good was visible, but there was much indolence and much wickedness, and all lived in ignorance. Then God kindled His light, and, lo! it became as day.

* The inland tribes of Rotorua have become well-known through the tourists to the famous Lake Rotorua.

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After this came Governor Hobson, and then a little fear* came over us. After him came Governor Fitzroy, and things went on in a similar way. But when you came, oh, Governor Grey, it was like the shock of an earthquake; your fame rose to the centre of the island, and extended to the waves on the ocean's shore. You came with two lights, and these are they: The lamp of God, and the lamp of the world.

Your efforts on behalf of God's cause are the establishment of schools, the erection of houses of prayer—thus following in the footsteps of the Church. These are the things you did in regard to the body: Encouraged industry in the cultivation of the soil, pointed out the means of acquiring property, and raised this island to its present state of prosperity. You have done these things: You have taught us to shun evil, and pointed out the bad practices of this world so that we might cast them aside. You have been as one of the ministers of the churches, therefore we call you by these names:—The Peacemaker, the Honourable, the Friendly One, the Loving One, the Kind One, the Director, the Protector, the Far Famed One, the Lifter-up, and the Father.

Although we heard of your projected departure, we thought, nevertheless, that you would stay. Both you and Bishop Selwyn are going. New Zealand will thus be left without a parent.

Oh, cause the troubled wave to sleep,
And silent keep the sea;
Nor let us hear its deafening roar
Resound along the rocky shore,
Till he § shall speak to me.

Till he shall speak in accents mild,
And wave this tuft of green,
For Tangaroa will hear his words,
And Oi** in the train of birds,
Shall smile upon the scene.

After various complimentary allusions to his career, and snatches of savage poetry, the Maori orator concluded thus—

Go, then, thou great one, the pride of the people. On the day that the great one shall depart let him be escorted (by the tribes), and let his attend-

* A slight yielding to the authority of Government.

Two lights—the Holy Scriptures and the authority of the Queen of the British Empire.

The singular appellations used here are purely native ideas. Those who know this people will know also that they are in the habit of changing names owing to various circumstances which transpire in their history. Important events are thus recorded in a mere name.

§ The Governor is here represented as the Priest.

The tuft of green is waved by the priest while he utters the prayer.

Tangaroa—the God of the Sea.

** Oi—sea-birds which congregate in vast numbers about the islets, and create quite a din with their croaking notes when the evening is calm.

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bear him along to the tides of Matirau*, and, Father, when they shalt arrive at Waiariki, return, return to us.

I see him not.

I see the foggy cloud above the mountains' height,
That harbinger of summer's balmy morn,
But see him not.

Haste, Tiki, with your guns,
Throw open wide your magazines,
And pay the homage due to such a chief.

My son, evils in secret lurk,
And friends are torn away by death or otherwise;
But the cause is neither seen nor known
By those who weep their absence.

Come near, my son, till I salute thee;
For thou wilt take thy walks in other climes,
And robe thyself in. richer garments than the Maoris wear.
Bring forth the feathers of the Huia,

That bird so prized that flits across the towering hills
Of Tararu; and bring the feathers of the Albatross,
That bird that skims along the mountain wave;
Bring them to crown the brow of the loved one
Going to the North to greet his fathers,
And thus arrayed, sit at the entrance of thy dwelling,
And look on scenes more dear perhaps to thee.

My son, we fondly hoped that thou
Would'st tarry with us long to bless the thousands
That attend thy footsteps with peace and plenty.

The sympathy thus exemplified was general among the whole of the Maoris. Songs, waiatas, and laments were composed without number and chanted at all the Maori kaingas from the North Cape to Wellington.

The feelings of the Europeans were more mingled. To many of the leading colonists, identified as they were with the New Zealand Company,—to those missionaries who had taken a place among the purchasers of native lands, and to those who were interested in acquiring such lands,—as well as to those who were intimately connected with the foundation of the great Episcopal settlement of Canterbury, many of Sir George's actions had been extremely distasteful, and they judged his conduct to have been inimical to

* The ocean is here meant.

Waiariki here means Her Majesty the Queen of England.

To fire a salute. This custom is not so common on the arrival of a distinguished visitor at a pah now as it used to be.

page 156their prosperity. They had, as many of them boasted, "Given Sir George Grey a lively time of it"; nor had they as yet forgotten the resolute action of the Governor in suspending the Constitution Act of 1846.

Yet there were many who regretted the departure of a just and resolute Governor, and who were convinced that dangers might arise under a less strong and powerful control, especially from the warlike native race by which they were surrounded. At the end of 1853, nominally upon leave of absence, but, as it turned out, upon the termination of his first government of New Zealand, Sir George Grey sailed from Auckland.

During his residence in New Zealand, full as his hands were of duties imposed upon him by his position, and occupied as he was in those labours which he had voluntarily undertaken, Sir George Grey in no way neglected those scientific researches and learned studies to which he was passionately devoted. His correspondence during this period reveals a continuous stream of assistance and contribution to many seats of art and learning in different parts of the world.

From London, from Berlin, from Melbourne and Vienna, from Glasgow and Paris, acknowledgments were received of generous gifts and of useful contributions to scientific knowledge. Plants, fossils, specimens of all descriptions, compilations of great philological value made at immense cost of trouble and of time, poetry, mythology, history, politics, colonisation, and philosophy, were all laid under contribution.

The perusal of his correspondence at this period arouses a sentiment of wonder as to how, in the ordinary working hours of daily life, one mind and the energies of one man could, in such a vast diversity of circumstances and affairs, have accomplished what it is absolutely certain Sir George Grey did accomplish. All was done without ostentation, and with no assertion of self. Ever ready to acknowledge the merit of others, he oftentimes allowed to those who occupied subordinate positions the full credit of plans and actions which owed their principal worth and success to the activity of his own mental powers or the strength of his own will.

Sir George Grey found New Zealand in a position of imminent peril: he left it in perfect safety. He came to it at the crisis of page 157a savage war: he left it in profound peace. On his arrival from South Australia, it was bankrupt in finance: on his departure for England, it was solvent and flourishing. The native tribes which in 1845 had been in a state of rebellion had not only been subdued by skill and arms, but had become willing and loyal servants of the Crown. They had learned the value of education, industry, and peace. A laudable spirit of emulation had been raised in their minds by the wise policy which he had pursued. His kindness and consideration had disarmed their hostility. The firmness of his rule had repressed their disorders. Had his policy been pursued, and the justice of his rule continued, in all human probability no native war would ever afterwards have been waged in New Zealand. Great numbers of natives had been trained to the skilful performance of public works. If continuous employment had been found for them, their minds would not have again turned to war.

The consequences of his government had been equally remarkable in regard to the Europeans. The scattered communities of intrepid and adventurous spirits had been reduced from a condition of lawless independence and antagonism into well-ordered portions of one state. Municipal organisations with extensive and beneficent powers had been established. A Constitution, unsurpassed in freedom and elasticity, had been bestowed upon the people of New Zealand. The rude and turbulent bands, gathered from distant parts of the earth upon the shores of these islands, had been formed into communal existence, and had become the first generation of a great nation. Out of incongruous materials, differing in race, in religion, and in colour— from war and poverty—the skill, the courage, and the patience of Sir George Grey had constructed the framework of a mighty future. His hands had planted in the islands of the Britain of the South a seedling which may yet develop into one of the mightiest trees of the forest.

The one person whose judgment can be of value as to the influences which at this time determined the future history of New Zealand is without doubt Earl Grey. He alone of all the Colonial Secretaries, at the close of his connection with the Colonial Department, left upon record the history of what had been accomplished during his period of office, and the policy which had been pursued by him.

He thus writes: "It is to the Governor, Sir George Grey, that page 158New Zealand is mainly indebted for this happy alteration in condition and prospects. Nothing but the singular ability and judgment displayed by him during the whole of his administration, and especially in its commencement, could have averted a war between the European and native inhabitants of those islands. It would have been one of the same character with that which has been raging so long at the Cape of Good Hope, but still more arduous, since the New Zealanders would have been yet more formidable enemies than the Kafirs, and the scene of the contest so much more remote. The war, which had already begun when Sir George Grey reached New Zealand, and in which at that time all the advantage had been with our adversaries, would have been converted into a mortal struggle between the European and Maori races by the slightest error of judgment on his part, and by his failing to unite with the most cautious prudence equal firmness and decision. Such a struggle, once commenced, could hardly have been closed except by our abandonment of the islands in disgrace, or the extermination of their aboriginal inhabitants. … Of the many remarkable proofs of the degree to which he has secured the affection and confidence of the natives, I will mention but two. When the Government House at Auckland had been destroyed by fire, a body of natives came forward with an entirely spontaneous offer of their unpaid labour to rebuild it; and afterwards, when a report that he was to be recalled had been circulated by some of the white opponents of his Government, petitions to the Queen that he might be allowed to remain were signed by the natives, and it is a curious circumstance that the first signature to one of these petitions was that of the Chief Te Rauparaha, whom he had kept so long in confinement. Some of the letters written by chiefs to the Queen, expressing their earnest desire that he might not be removed, and the gratitude and affection they felt for him, are very interesting."

Indeed the only merit which Earl Grey claims for his Ministry in the wonderful manner in which New Zealand had been brought through the perilous crisis of 1845–52, was that they had supported Sir George Grey in the policy he had pursued, and co-operated with him to the utmost of their power.

"His previous administration of South Australia under difficulties of another kind, but hardly less formidable than those he had to page 159encounter in New Zealand, and the justness of all his views with regard to the latter as explained in his despatches, entitled him to our unreserved confidence. This being the case, I am persuaded that we adopted the only course likely to lead to a happy result in resolving to embarrass him by few positive and no minute instructions, but to leave it almost entirely to his own judgment to determine upon the measures to be taken by him, and to be guided mainly by his advice in what we were ourselves called upon to do. This was the principle upon which we acted."

Earl Grey bore such high testimony to the great qualities of his namesake that he felt compelled to insert a paragraph disclaiming all personal or partial feeling.

"As I have expressed so strongly," says the noble Earl, "the admiration I feel for Sir George Grey, I ought, perhaps, to say that my opinion has not been influenced by any private feelings of partiality. Notwithstanding the name he bears, there is no relationship between Sir George Grey and myself, nor have I the advantage of any personal acquaintance with him. I never had the pleasure of seeing him, and know him only by his conduct and my correspondence with him in the public service."

During many years after this was written Sir George Grey has been pleased and honoured with the friendship of his distinguished namesake.

"In short," says Earl Grey, "the contrast between the state of things at the end of 1850 and that which the present Governor found existing on his arrival at the end of the year 1845, is so marked and so gratifying that it is difficult to believe that so great a change should have been accomplished in the short space of five years."

When the Constitution Act was suspended great powers were, as we have seen, given to Governor Grey.

"The authority thus entrusted to the Governor has been used with great discretion and advantage; he established subordinate provincial legislatures, and by passing various important and useful laws in furtherance of that general system of policy which I have described, he removed all obstacles to the establishment of representative Government in New Zealand even before the five years for which it had been suspended had expired."

The feelings with which Sir George Grey undertook the task con-page 160fided to him are best described in his own words, taken from his memorandum of July 6th, 1854:—

"Not only did I not hesitate when thus appealed to, to do my utmost to assist Lord Derby in such difficult circumstances, but stimulated by his language and by that of Sir Robert Peel, I have spent more than eight of the best years of my life in New Zealand without once asking for promotion or reward; and I would not leave the country (as I originally determined when I went there) until I had fulfilled, even to minute details, every duty Earl Derby had called upon me to perform, and until I could leave a country, which Her Majesty had by his advice placed in my hands in a state of rebellion and ruin, in a condition of profound peace, and of great prosperity, with representative institutions in full and successful operation, and followed by the prayers and blessings of the great mass of its inhabitants."

Another valuable testimony to the wisdom of Sir George Grey's policy is given by Earl Grey in the following paragraph:—

"By means of the large grants which were voted upon these grounds for the service of New Zealand, the Governor was enabled to prosecute with vigour the various measures of improvement he had described as necessary, and among these were none which, both on civil and military grounds, he considered so important as the construction of roads. With reference to these, it is a remarkable circumstance, which I hope there can be no objection to my mentioning, that at the very time when Sir George Grey was writing from New Zealand to represent the absolute necessity of roads with a view to military security, the great man,* whose recent loss the nation has had to deplore, was in this country expressing precisely the same opinion."

It will be seen from the necessarily brief and imperfect history of Governor Grey's administration in New Zealand contained in the foregoing pages, that he relied less upon military force to subdue the Maoris than upon the civilising influences of wise and considerate legislation. When war was necessary, Sir George Grey did not shrink from the most severe and decisive action. This was clearly shown by his vigorous conduct of the struggle which was being waged when he arrived in the colony. But when recourse

* The Duke of Wellington.

Earl Grey, vol. 2, p. 150.

page 161to arms could be avoided wisely and justly, nothing would induce the Governor to consent to bloodshed. His warm interest in the welfare of the Maoris, and his benevolent plans for their happiness had their due effect. Savage warriors, who had till then shown themselves rebellious and implacable, became as little children in their simple reverence and loving obedience to their "father," "Kawana Kerei."
Sir George Grey in 1854. From a painting by Richmond, of London.

Sir George Grey in 1854.
From a painting by Richmond, of London.

Indisputable evidence of the peacefulness of Grey's method of dealing with the natives is afforded by the fact that there were one hundred and seventy-one of our soldiers and seamen killed and wounded in battle during the four months from March to July, 1845, before Sir George Grey arrived. After his arrival and until his departure in 1854, a period of more than eight years, the number was only eighty-one.