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Chapter xi.
Governor Browne's Departure.

Governor Browne gracefully accepted the despatch recalling him. He promised his successor loyal assistance, and declared that the appointment of Sir George Grey, “who has so much personal influence with the Maoris, and is so deservedly beloved by them, affords the best hope of a peaceful solution of the present difficulty.” He communicated the tidings by letter to Waka Nene. He received complimentary addresses from friendly Maoris and from public bodies. The Taranaki settlers thanked him almost unanimously for his proceedings in that province, though they were still cooped up in their fortified town. Amongst the Maori addresses was one from Tamati Ngapora, the uncle of the Maori king, known in after years as Manuhiri (or the guest). Ngapora declared that his heart was “relieved because the threats against Waikato had not been fulfilled.”

Sir George Grey arrived in Auckland on the 26th September, 1861, and his predecessor conferred with him before sailing away on the 2nd October. On the 3rd, Grey assumed office. His chief adviser was Fox, his bitter opponent during his previous term of office in New Zealand. His consultations with his Ministers were long and anxious. His relations with the men who formed it were changed since he had wielded the Governor's powers in a Crown colony. The Constitution Act of 1852 had in a mangled manner been brought into operation, and, contrary to British constitutional usage, the local responsible Ministers could assume office without resorting to their constituents for approval. Sir G. Grey had kept the office of Land Purchase Commissioner distinct from that of Native Secretary. Governor Browne by merging them had bred suspicions in the Maori mind, and the Ministry informed his

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successor that they lay at the root of existing troubles. The Government was looked upon as a gigantic land-broker. In May, 1861, McLean had resigned the Native Secretaryship, but the effect of the past combination was not effaced. The loss from the Taranaki war, so lightly entered upon and so fruitless, was thus furnished to Sir G. Grey:—The British extraordinary expenditure had been £500,000; colonial expenditure on military objects, £193,000; cost of removing and aiding women and children, £29,000; losses of settlers, £150,000;—total, £872,000. Colonel Browne had sent troops to the front to enter upon a war at Waikato; and Mr. Carter, a member of the House, had openly stated that on the outbreak of war the probable cost of removing and maintaining for one year women and children exiled from threatened positions of the Auckland, Wellington, and Hawke's Bay provinces, together with the destruction of property there, would be £1,312,000. General Cameron reported the expense of maintaining the 6000 troops in New Zealand to be £437,715 for the year 1861; —the increase on account of war being £337,715. To enter on a Waikato war would raise the military expenditure to nearly a million sterling in the year. The ordinary revenue of the colony was only £282,000 a year. The colonial war-liability already amounted to £350,000, and was increasing at the rate of £80,000 per annum. Sir George Grey in conveying this information urged as a reason for avoiding war, if possible, that not only on Europeans, but on Maoris, miseries would be entailed. He was already endeavouring to devise a policy with his Ministers. On the 2nd November he warned the English Government of the peculiar condition of the Waikato district. Throughout the Taranaki war, while the Waikato warriors were in the field afar, all Europeans, civil, military, or private persons in the district were unmolested. A Mr. Armitage resided in it, leasing land from a chief (contrary to the colonial law), warning pedestrians not to cross it, exacting a fine of one shilling for trespass, and notifying that he would personally levy it from Maori and European alike. Maori chiefs in other places administered for themselves a rough imitation of English law, levying distress in the immediate vicinity of the so-called Maori king. The king-maker had founded a school, and was seen

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on the 17th October engaged with his son in ploughing the school land, from the produce of which the children were to be supported. Mr. Gorst, a Fellow of St. John's, Cambridge, who had been previously in the district, had been recently sent by the Colonial Government to inspect certain schools there. Well might it occur to Sir George Grey that it would be better to endeavour to establish law and order by peaceful means than to carry slaughter into such a district.

Mr. Gorst in his book, ‘The Maori King,’ has given a remarkable picture of what he saw, and draws the sad conclusion that the quarrel with the Maoris might by prudence have been avoided. His narrative well deserves perusal. He knew the king-maker, heard him state his intentions before his peacemaking journey to Taranaki, and observed that they were punctually fulfilled in spite of misrepresentations by Europeans. After the arrival of Sir G. Grey, when Mr. Gorst was appointed Commissioner and magistrate at Waikato, he endured the condolences of the king-maker for becoming so mean a thing as an officer of the Government. On one subject Sir George Grey took the responsibility of “delaying the execution” of the Duke of Newcastle's commands; viz. to tell the Otaki natives that their professions of loyalty to the Queen would have “made a more favourable impression (in England) if they had not been accompanied by the disloyal ceremony of hoisting the so-called Maori king's flag, in which the greater part of the natives of Otaki appear to have taken part.” Sir G. Grey thought it needful to make “a fair inquiry as to whether the natives of Otaki,” who signed the petition to the Queen, “had been in any way concerned in hoisting the Maori king's flag.” He thought them loyally disposed. “If I were,” he said, “to communicate the answer I am directed to give them I should rouse a feeling of hopeless desperation in the minds of large numbers of natives who are still well-disposed.”¹

On the 2nd November Sir George Grey gave an outline of the policy he hoped to pursue. Not to renew military operations, but to introduce institutions suited to the circumstances of the Maoris, formed the principal features. To secure as many friends as possible, and thus reduce the number of pro-

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bable enemies in case of war, was another object. Already he had drawn up a scheme with which, in the main, his responsible advisers concurred. The northern island was to be divided into about 20 districts, and subdivided into hundreds. Native magistrates and police-officers were to be paid. The runanga of each district was to be composed of the Civil Commissioner and twelve persons. The runangas of the hundreds were to select representatives for the district runanga, and the Governor would generally appoint them, giving preference to those acquainted with the English language. The district runangas were to be charged with many functions of legislative character; viz. suppression of nuisances and preventing drunkenness. Hospitals, gaols, and schools were to be under them; and they were to provide for the adjustment of land disputes, tribal or individual. When boundaries were settled native owners might dispose of land, not exceeding one farm in each case, to a European purchaser approved by the Government, on the recommendation of the runanga. The Ministry drew up a careful commentary on each proposal, but in the main concurred. Fines and fees and a house or land-tax were to provide ways and means.

On the 4th of November the Governor, rapid as of old, was ready to start for the Bay of Islands to proffer his new institutions to the Ngapuhi, to whose great chief, Waka Nene, he had already presented a silver cup forwarded by the Queen in compliance with Colonel Browne's application for some mark of favour. The General, the Commodore, and the Prime Minister accompanied him. The reception of the Governor and of his new policy was enthusiastic. Many questions were asked about the salaries to be received by the native functionaries, and it was carried by acclamation that the scheme was excellent. With the Ngapuhi tribe, still swayed by Waka Nene, and ever faithful to the Qeeen under the Waitangi treaty, it was not difficult to maintain friendly relations. To them Sir George Grey was still their old friend, conversant with their traditions and commanding their affections. It was otherwise at Waikato. Te Whero Whero, his especial friend, had passed away; and the advisers of the king were poisoned against Europeans. The greed of the Taranaki settlers, which had culminated in the Waitara land quarrel, had aroused suspicions which even

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Sir George Grey's reputation could not lull. On that reputation also was the stain which made Te Waharoa say when invited to a conference at Auckland: “Shall I go and be treated like Rauparaha?” While from various quarters came loving congratulations upon his return to Maoria, from Waikato no sign of friendship was shown. The chieftains held aloof, and watched. When propositions were made for a deputation from Waikato to the Governor, in compliance with an invitation from Tamati Ngapora, a chief rose and said that he had been warned by a letter from Auckland that Sir George Grey was luring them to a trap:—that at the Cape of Good Hope he had invited Kaffir chiefs to a conference and had made them prisoners. It would be better for Sir George Grey to visit Waikato. The joint efforts of Bishop Selwyn and Tamati Ngapora were thus frustrated. Mr. Fox, who afterwards wrote a book called ‘The War in New Zealand,’ declares that when Tamati Ngapora returned from his visit to the king's people, he was reticent and formal, and it was “evident that his visit to Waikato had done him no good.” His interview with the Governor was protracted and nugatory. The king-maker wrote a letter in November. In a Maori vessel, forbidden by the runanga to carry spirits, had been found three kegs of spirits, put on board by a Frenchman. The runanga seized the spirits, and the king-maker reported and justified the fact. The spirits were retained untouched. Sir George Grey sent Mr. Gorst to explain that such misdeeds would be prevented under his new institutions. The king-maker's tribe assembled at Arikirua to discuss the matter, and thought that laws made by the runanga, confirmed by the king, and approved by the Governor, ought to be obeyed. But they could not give up their king or his flag. A second meeting at Tamahere was less docile, though the king-maker admirably expounded the Governor's plans. Mr. Gorst went to Ngaruwahia, where the king's counsellors discussed but postponed the subject till the 12th December, when a great meeting was to be held at Taupiri, and Sir George Grey's presence was expected. In these events the Governor saw further proof of the need of law.

On the 30th November he wrote that he did not deem it right to carry out his predecessor's determination to compel obedience to the manifesto of the 21st May, 1861. Such terms

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could not be enforced. The attempt to enforce them would supply a bond of union against British authority. There was no such paramount authority among the Maoris as to enable a chief to ensure obedience to conditions. The terms offered by Governor Browne at Waitara in April, 1861, had been accepted by certain chiefs; but when a Commissioner had gone thither to carry them out, the chief who had formerly agreed to them could not assist. It rested, he said, with the people. The collective title could not be dealt with except by the tribe. The Commissioner, amid threats of violence, was obliged to leave. Moreover, Governor Browne's Waikato terms were inapplicable to the district, and it was better to withdraw from than to enforce them. Sir George Grey also thought it unwise to call together a conference like that at Kohimarama in 1860, which Governor Browne and his advisers had made it a cardinal point to repeat in 1861. Many chiefs had formerly held aloof. Its decisions would not be binding. It was better for the Governor to propose institutions and to trust to their being adopted in detail by various tribes. He could not prophesy that war could thus be avoided, but no other course was equally promising. The difficulty was to induce confidence in the Government, and as yet it had not been secured. His Ministry had promptly supplied him with a memorandum on the subject of ministerial advice upon native affairs. Governor Browne's plan of receiving advice and reserving his discretion in adopting it had worked badly. To obtain responsible government it had been yielded to, but was not liked, by the Assembly. The Native Department, unsupported by the representatives, was incapable of good.

Sir George Grey, who had in former days been censured for imputed opposition to representative government, met his Ministers in their desire to do away with the double government, which had been so unprosperous in the hands of Colonel Browne. He resolved to consult them on native affairs as on other subjects. He had transmitted their memorandum on the 9th October, and on the 30th November he asked the assent of the Secretary of State to his proposal to treat all affairs alike. If serious differences should arise between himself and his Ministers, he could in all cases resort to other advisers, and appeal to the General Assembly. If local government could be

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introduced into native districts, few serious questions were likely to arise between the Maoris and the Legislature. It was also advisable to show confidence in the General Assembly. The responsibility thrown upon it would be a protection against rash dealings, which might involve it in war. Aid would not be expected from England to enforce injustice.

To commend his proposals to the English Government, Sir George Grey sent a memorandum, showing that if his native institutions should succeed, they would entail a special cost of about £50,000 a year, and would abolish an expenditure of £629,000, of which £129,000 fell upon the colony. His Ministers undertook to recommend the plan to the General Assembly, and to stake their own position upon it. They drew up a paper to be circulated among the Maoris. It embodied the Governor's proposals, pointed out the blessings of schools, and of resident physicians, and declared that the heart of the Queen would be glad when she heard that the two races were living like brothers in a prosperous land.

The strange medley of affairs arising from the old hospitality of the Maoris, in spite of the confusion into which they had been plunged by the Waitara war, was exemplified in December, 1861. Mr. Crawford, a Wellington functionary, wished to examine the geological formation of the Wanganui district. He went thither, and with three Europeans ascended the river in a canoe. Six Maoris formed the crew. Their chief was Topia Turoa, who will be heard of hereafter as a daring defier of Sir G. Grey, and an ally in the field, in after days, against Te Kooti. Mr. Crawford passed Pipiriki, but near Tangarakau was told that he could not be allowed to proceed. The land there had been handed to the Maori king, and as the English were at war with him, his permission would be necessary. The result was the return of the party to Wanganui, under the care of the king's friend Turoa.¹ Sir George Grey commended (8th December) to the Secretary of State a mission to Waikato, which Mr. Gorst was about to undertake, and the Duke of Newcastle in reply, saw “no difficulty, if the Maoris desire it, in requiring the assent of one of their chiefs, whether Matutaera or any other person, to the laws passed by the runanga. Such an assent is no more

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inconsistent with the sovereignty of Her Majesty than the assent of the Superintendent of a province to laws passed by the Provincial Council.” The humours at the Colonial Office were hardly reconcilable. In 1860, the Duke sanctioned an act of rapine in order to crush the pretensions of Maori chiefs. In 1862, he was willing to recognize their power of veto. In December, the Governor made an expedition to the Lower Waikato. The Maoris sent a war-canoe to convey him and his suite to Kohanga. A triumphal arch, decorated with the Queen's name, was passed on the way to the settlement through lines of Maoris. The school children sang ‘God save the Queen.’ Preliminary interviews with chiefs were held for two or three days. On the 16th, more than 700 natives assembled to hear the Governor at Taupiri; 250 of them were said to be followers of the king. His speech was gravely listened to by all. He made it practical by the appointment of Waatu Kukutai as head magistrate of the Taupiri Hundred with a salary. The meeting broke up at two o'clock, to reassemble at three, by request of the Maoris. There was much converse between the Governor and Tipene and Herewini, spokesmen of the king-party. On the 17th there was another meeting. Five tribes were there. Above the Governor's seat was an “exquisitely tattooed” image, clothed with a mat of finest texture. A “stone axe of great antiquity hung by its hand.” The Governor spoke. Each Maori approved. The principal chief said, pointing to the figure: “Governor Grey, that is our ancestor. We, all these five tribes, take our origin from him. He is our ‘mana’; he is our ancestor. We give him to you; we give you also his mat, and his battle-axe. We cannot give you more.” The Governor answered: “I accept, and will keep your ancestor with me.” The new institutions were accepted in the Lower Waikato, and glowing accounts were published at Auckland. On the 18th, two large canoes, manned by forty chosen young men, took the Governor and his suite to Maungatawhiri, whence he returned by land to Auckland.

But Sir George Grey was not misled as to the views of the Upper Waikato, or king-party. Writing on the 7th January, he told the Secretary of State that they “showed an entire distrust and want of confidence in the Government.” He

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had met, had questioned, and been questioned by prominent champions, and this was his verdict. Mr. Gorst details much of the colloquy. The Maori advocates wanted to extract from Sir G. Grey whether he was opposed to the king; Colonel Browne having declared it a duty to do away with him. Sir George wanted to know how far they wished to force their king upon other tribes. They first answered evasively, that they knew of no tribes which rejected him, but added, they would not attack them if there were any such. Tipene admitted also, that where the king's mana did not extend, land sales would not be prevented. If a man had pledged his land to the king, and altered his mind, “he will not be allowed to sell his land; but we shall not assail and kill him; we shall not do as you Pakehas do.” Of the property of which Colonel Browne had demanded restitution, Tipene said: “My name for that is ‘spoils,’ lawfully taken in war.” When the Governor asked about the land of the Europeans on which the Maoris had gone, Tipene replied: “Is there no Maori land at Waitara in possession of the Pakeha?” The Tataraimaka land and the Waitara land he spoke of in one category. The English held Waitara, the Maoris had a right to hold the land from which they had driven the settlers. The status quo post bellum seemed to him to satisfy the ends of peace; but he said it was well, when the Governor said the titles at Waitara would be investigated. As to Tataraimaka, the Governor shook his head. He had been ashamed of the deeds of the Ngatiruanui when he heard of them. Killing women and children was unworthy of Maoris. He had not inquired into the matter; but if he were, like Tipene, a friend, he would advise them to restore what they could, and make compensation. Tipene figuratively urged that the same terms of peace should extend to all who were allies in war, and asked if the Governor's questions were ended. “Gov.—Yes. Tipene.—Then I will ask a question. Are you opposed to my king? Gov.—I do not care about him; but I think it is a thing that will lead to trouble. It will be stopped by such means as I have adopted, and will die out. Tipene.—If the king is brought to nought by your plans, well and good. You say, What is the king to you? We say, It is a thing of importance to us, and we say so because we have seen the good of it. Quarrels of Maoris amongst them-

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selves have diminished.… So I ask you, Are you altogether opposed to my king?—that you may say whether you are so or not. Gov.—If you ask me as a friend, I tell you I think it a very bad thing.” Tipene was unable to extract more from Sir G. Grey, though specially sent to do so by his friends at Ngaruawahia. They wished to know whether the Governor intended to use his army to coerce them, as his predecessor had threatened. Tipene concluded by saying: “Proceed cautiously in working out your plans. The only thing that remains dark is the king. Your own plan is to unite us all.”

Each side had misgivings. Those of the Maoris were strengthened by the formation of a road towards Waikato. The Auckland province had in former years commenced to cut a road through the Hunua forest to the Waikato river. It was almost impassable in winter, and the work was not carried to the proposed terminus. Two miles were untouched. Mr. Gorst declared that the Colonial Government stopped the work during the Taranaki war, in order to avoid giving offence to the Waikato tribes. Sir G. Grey announced his intention to resume it, and the soldiers, then idly quartered about Auckland, were employed in the work of cutting and metalling a military road. Mr. Gorst, an eye-witness, avers that this determination increased the respect which the Maoris entertained for the Governor, but convinced them that he, like his predecessor, though with more wisdom, contemplated war.

Mr. Fox had been with the Governor at Taupiri, and proceeded thence, with Mr. Gorst, in a canoe up the Waikato river towards Ngaruawahia. The Governor empowered him to offer to settle the Waitara dispute by means of a mixed commission, of one European and two Maoris chosen by the Governor, and the same number of like persons chosen by Te Rangitake and his friends. Before Mr. Fox reached Ngaruawahia, the chiefs had left it. Mr. Gorst is of opinion that they did so because the tidings of the military road to the Waikato river convinced them that negotiation was useless. As Mr. Fox could not see the king-maker at Ngaruawahia, he rode through the forest to Hangatiki, where the king was supposed to be visiting the chiefs of Ngatimaniapoto, of whom the redoubtable Rewi was leader. He was honourably received on Saturday, and Rewi appointed

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Monday for conference. The royal guard-house was close to Mr. Fox's lodging, and its commander (who had visited Europe in an Austrian frigate, the ‘Novara’) spoke English, French, German, and Italian by turns to the visitors, and spoke Maori to his soldiers. On Sunday he carried prayer-books in a bag, and distributed them to the men. Te Rangitake was a guest of Rewi. Mr. Fox met him, and, according to Mr. Gorst, Te Rangitake coolly denied his identity. Mr. Fox's diary is silent on the point. On Monday the great meeting-house was crowded with listeners. Rewi, Te Rangitake, Reihana, and other Ngatimaniapoto chiefs, were present. None of the king-maker's people, the Ngatihaua, were there. The king did not attend. Mr. Fox explained the new institutions, and proposed the settlement of the Waitara dispute by arbitration. An inferior chief, Aporo, replied. He asked whether Governor Browne had not been wrong, and Te Rangitake right, at Taranaki. Mr. Fox soliloquized in English: “Why, that is exactly what I always said in the Assembly.” A Maori understood and translated the remark to the assembly. The orator asked: “How then can a trial take place unless the guilty Colonel Browne be present?” Finally, it was said that the matters were too important to be rashly decided. Waikato would take time to consider. Mr. Fox was not permitted to see the king, but he informed the king-maker by letter of the proposed arbitration. The answer (dated 21st January) followed him to Auckland. It expressed regret that the writer had not seen Mr. Fox, but thought a meeting would have been of little use. Governor Grey's persistence in stationing soldiers at Te la excited suspicion, and the king-maker would not, under such circumstances, consent to an investigation at Waitara.

Before returning to Auckland, Mr. Fox went to Rewi's settlement at Kihikihi, where many chiefs had assembled to visit the king. That personage quitted Kihikihi as Mr. Fox entered it. By this time word had been brought that the soldiers were already at work on the military road to Maungatawhiri. Tribes were gathering at Rangiriri, eager to attack the troops. The king had sent a message ordering them to be patient, and, when he arrived at Rangiriri himself moderate counsels prevailed. As the road was on the Queen's land, it was held that

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Maoris could not justly interfere with it. If it should be extended to Maori territory, then there would be the requisite “tă-kĕ,” or ground for war, and all Waikato would rise. They made comparisons between the Governor and his predecessor. The latter blundered blindly, and all could see his purpose. Governor Grey made silent preparations, and only struck when he was ready. His promptitude was conspicuous. Two days after leaving Kohanga he wrote to General Cameron about the road to Waikato, and within a week more than 2000 soldiers were at work, with an advanced post at Pokeno, not far from the Waikato river. At Kihikihi, Rewi, meanwhile, was entertaining and arguing with Mr. Fox in what Mr. Gorst called a clever and unsparing manner. At an entertainment, Te Rangitake and Mr. Fox ate from the same basket, and discussed the Waitara dispute—the chief declaring that the troops ought to be removed from the place, so that the question might be left to the law. After dinner Te Heu Heu inveighed against the Pakehas in an oration which offended all who were inclined to accept the new institutions. Some Taupo chiefs on the following day asked for a separate interview, and expressed their contentment with the Governor's propositions. Mr. Fox had often desired a “face to face” interview with the Maori leaders. As regarded the king-maker and the king he had been foiled. With Rewi and Te Rangitake he had made no progress.

Sir George Grey knew the expediency of seeming to be bent on justice. The old disputes about Crown grants to natives furnished an occasion to him. The law officers had contended that after the coming into operation of the New Constitution (1852) there was a legal obstruction to fulfilment of promises to the natives. Sir George Grey had urged, in 1851, that power should be vested in the Governor to grant lands to Maoris. It had not been so vested. He now urged that, if needful, the Constitution Act should be amended. He sent voluminous papers on the subject, amongst which was this characteristic minute by himself: “My advice to Ministers would be to have all these Crown grants issued without delay. I do not doubt that they would be valid, but if any doubts were hereafter raised as to their validity, then I would have an Act passed confirming and making good these grants. I think it of the

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utmost importance that they should be issued at once.” He urged in two despatches that Parliament should be asked to apply an immediate remedy for so dangerous an evil; and his Ministers who saw his despatches did not dissent, though they preferred local legislation. The Duke of Newcastle replied that he learned with extreme regret “that for no better reason than a supposed legal difficulty, which, if it exist at all, ought in common fairness to have been removed long ago, a large number of natives have failed to obtain the fulfilment of explicit promises by which they had been induced to surrender their lands to the Colonial Government.” He would not shrink from asking Parliament for redress, but as it appeared that the Colonial Government were willing, on the Governor's advice, to grant it, he thought it better to rely upon their dealings than to submit to Parliament a measure indicating a suspicion that the colonial authorities were indisposed “to deal honestly with their Maori creditors.”

Mr. Gorst, in February, was busy as a magistrate at Otawhao in the Upper Waikato district; and at Taupiri the new institutions were accepted to the extent of electing the village runangas, though the district runanga was not called into existence. At Te Kohekohe another runanga was formed and Wiremu Te Wheoro was made head magistrate. Intelligent, loyal, and respected even by the king's adherents, he was unable to overcome the reluctance of his tribe to oppose the national party. A hot-headed Ngatimaniapoto chief, Patene, marched to Otawhao to expel Mr. Gorst from the mission station. The king's runanga had passed an abstract resolution to forbid Queen's magistrates in the king's territory, but they had not appointed Patene to enforce it. He arrived with thirty armed men. The children of the mission school perched themselves upon a fence to watch. Europeans, including ladies, stood by. Patene read an address signed by more than 2000 partisans of the king, and ordered Mr. Gorst to leave. Mr. Gorst refused. Mr. Morgan, the missionary, was not told to go. Finding Mr. Gorst obstinate, and not knowing how far the king would abet his proceedings, Patene drew off his army. The king's council not only did not abet him, but wrote to Rewi enjoining him to keep better order and prevent violence.

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They passed a law, however, forbidding, under heavy penalties, any resort to Mr. Gorst's Court, and it was so loyally obeyed, that, during six months, only one native suitor appeared there, and he was fined for doing so. Patene, indignant because the king's advisers had not abetted him in the expulsion of Mr. Gorst, declared that he would not permit others to maltreat him. The conflict between native and European jurisdictions resulted, as might have been expected, in favour of the former. Hona, a chief of a small “hapu,” or section of the Waikato tribe, had been an unpaid assessor under Mr. Fenton. Subsequently he attached himself to the king. His tribe had a dispute with a neighbouring tribe about an eel-weir. His more powerful antagonists secured their blood-relations, the Ngatimaniapoto, as judges, and won their cause. Hona renounced his allegiance, and sought and obtained the protection of the Government. He received a salary. When, to eke out the native revenue, the king's runanga ordered a poll-tax of £1 yearly on all Europeans living in native territory, and it was about to be levied on a trader under Hona's protection, Hona threatened to resist, but when an armed party appeared to levy it under a chief who said he would take either the money or its value in goods from the trader, Hona recommended payment. In later time, when war broke out, Hona went over to the king. But submission to the king was not undeviating. The village runangas made laws for themselves, and their administration depended much on the character of the principal chief and the respect shown to him. The king-maker was a conspicuous example. Mr. Gorst never heard a complaint of injustice from any European residing amongst the Ngatihaua. But the counsel of the wise was not accepted everywhere. When the king's runanga, at the king-maker's suggestion, passed an ordinance displeasing to Rewi, he would not obey it, and the king's council sorrowfully admitted that it could not enforce its decrees. It was suspicion of Europeans that furnished the bond of union, and but for the injustice at Waitara, the king movement would perhaps have died of inanition. For his king, as the Maori champion against the Pakeha, Rewi was ever ready to run risk. The king-maker, who sought to provide a paternal government and shrunk from war, lost influence as

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Rewi gained it, when the hot spirits of the tribes thirsted to be led against the common foe. Fines, fees, and donations scantily supplied the king's exchequer. A strange instance of the medley of affairs was shown in carrying the mails. The king would not allow the Queen's subjects to carry it through his territory; but two of his followers bore it, and were paid by the Colonial Government. The king in church, said Amen to the prayer for the Queen, and when, during the Taranaki war, it was proposed to pray for the king instead of the Queen (the Waikato being in the field), it was resolved not to alter the Prayer-book; in spite of the murmurers who objected to a prayer that she might vanquish her enemies.

On both sides there were provokers of violence. Sir George Grey more than once reported that the Maoris bitterly resented the insults cast upon them. “In the attacks thus made in some newspapers upon the natives, and upon all acts of fairness performed towards them, consists at present the greatest difficulty in this country.” The Duke of Newcastle could only suggest counter-statements by the Governor, and “reminding the editors of the dangerous consequences of their language.” Power to suspend an offending organ was in such case absolutely necessary to prove to the Maori the justice of the Queen, and to the printer the power of the Government. But the Duke of Newcastle was neither wise enough to forecast the future, nor resolute enough to meet a danger if he could have foreseen it. Part of Sir George Grey's policy was the acquisition of friends amongst the tribes. On the 25th January, 1862, Mr. T. H. Smith, Commissioner for the Rotorua district, reported the acceptance by the Arawa tribes of the new institutions. In after years their warlike devotion attested the value of their adhesion. The resident magistrate at Taupo adopted the new system in March. For a time it seemed that its acceptance was about to destroy confidence in the king movement. Mr. Armstrong, the resident magistrate at Lower Waikato, reported the palpable decay of the king's influence, and the probability of a complete organization of the district.

At Hawke's Bay and at Wellington the Governor in person received loyal assurances from the Maoris. At the former place a real or supposed plot was made known to him. A battle-axe,

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sent round to chiefs by the Ngatiraukawa tribe during the Tarauaki war, as a symbol, on appeal to which they were to rise and destroy the Europeans, was handed to the Governor as a public proof of renunciation of all hostility. Soon afterwards, at Otaki, symbols of similar import were given up to him. Till then he had not known that Rewi's hostility had taken so matured a form. Its public exposure and abandonment by the recipients of the symbols was deemed a proof that Grey's return had rallied the loyalty of his old acquaintances. He had no sooner reported these things, and the gratifying progress made by the troops under General Cameron in forming the military road to the Waikato river, than he was warned of a new difficulty. The Duke of Newcastle was dissatisfied. He wanted to know why the colony was not heavily taxed to meet its requirements. He was willing to sanction the surrender of native affairs to the General Assembly. All militia and volunteer expenses must, however, be locally borne. The contribution of £5 per man for cost of troops must be continued, and a large Imperial force was not to be maintained in the colony. The Duke would sanction Sir G. Grey's new scheme for governing New Zealand with limitations. The Colonial Government must furnish not less than £26,000 towards it. The Imperial Government would not supply more than the amount due from the colonists as military contribution —calculated at the rate of £5 a head for every soldier employed. The arrangement was to expire in December, 1864, and was to be subject to any general measure which the Home Government might adopt with regard to maintaining Imperial troops in the colonies. Sir George Grey replied that the General Assembly was about to meet in July (1862), when the Duke's objections would be brought before it, and suggested that affairs might be favourably influenced if his proposals should be approved at an early date, it being unlikely that the Maoris would abandon their confederacy while a possibility existed that the proposals might at any moment be countermanded from England. Meantime the language used in the newspapers irritated and was complained of by friendly natives. The Governor told General Cameron that it had great effect in strengthening the suspicions of the king's followers that the

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English were bent on their extermination. Sir George Grey himself made peace, in June, between two tribes friendly to the English, which were fighting about a piece of land at the north of Auckland. The foes were entrenched about 200 yards apart. He persuaded them to strike their colours simultaneously. Each leader was to choose two persons, Maori or European. The four chosen were to name a fifth, Maori or European. If they could not agree to do so, the Governor was to name him. The decision of a majority of the five was to be final. Each pah was to be allowed to fall to ruin, so that neither side might boast of destroying the pah of the other. The arbitration was to be held at Auckland. Sir George Grey was within the entrenchments of Tirirau, one of the disputants, when his “flag was hauled down,” and his “assembled chiefs and followers went down upon their knees, and, in the form prescribed in the native Church of England Prayer-book, went through a service of thanksgiving for the mercy of God in protecting them from the perils of war, and in restoring the blessings of peace to them,—their whole demeanour evincing the most devout thankfulness.”

A dispute about digging for gold was auspiciously put an end to by Sir George Grey in the same month. Numbers of Europeans were crowding to search for gold on lands the property of Maoris at Coromandel, and threatening to seize the land by force. The Maori king was called upon to take charge of it. Collisions were expected. The Governor travelled rapidly from the south of the island, and persuaded the chiefs to receive an annual payment for the right to search within defined boundaries. The war-party of the Maori king was foiled, and retired from Hauraki whither it had marched. The Governor found fault with Tawhiao for alarming the country by his movements, and the king's runanga published his letter with a reply, saying that no harm had been done, and there could therefore be nothing to punish.

Before the General Assembly met, the military road was completed to Pokeno, and cordial thanks were given to the General and the soldiers for their skill and alacrity. It would be an imputation on Grey's intelligence to suppose that he was unconscious that the work had aroused the just suspicions of

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the Maoris. To the Assembly which he convened at Wellington in July, 1862, the Governor commended the consideration of the new institutions for Maori government, and the better organization of militia and volunteer forces. He said: “I have hitherto had no occasion, and hope that I shall have none hereafter, to employ the military forces in any active field operations.” The first cloud which threatened his relations to the General now darkened the horizon. General Cameron, without warning to the Colonial Government, had reported that the annual training of the militia was neglected. The discontinuance had occurred under Governor Browne, in 1861, and was attributed by Mr. Fox and his colleagues to the impossibility of enforcing the training without driving away the population to the gold-fields of Australia, and those recently discovered in the Middle Island. They hoped to legislate on the subject. Appreciating their difficulties, and shrinking from the risk of a war of races, the Governor wrote that he was endeavouring to persuade the local government to create a permanent armed police force of Europeans and Maoris, who would ultimately take a principal part of the colonial military duty; a plan of which in due time the Secretary of State approved.

Mr. Fox brought before the House a resolution disclaiming exclusive responsibility for controlling Maori affairs, and liability for the principal cost of suppressing insurrections; recognizing the duty of cheerful co-operation, to the extent of the colonial ability, with the Imperial Government; but declaring that “(reserving to the Governor both the initiation and decision of questions where Imperial interests are concerned), the ordinary conduct of native affairs should be placed under the administra-of responsible Ministers.” The House was evenly divided. Twenty-two supported, and the same number opposed, Mr. Fox. The Speaker's vote kept the question open, and the dissatisfied Ministry resigned. Mr. Stafford and Mr. Fitzgerald severally declined to take office, and on the 5th August Mr. Domett formed a Ministry, with Messrs. T. B. Gillies, Mantell, and Bell, as colleagues in the House of Representatives; Mr. H. J. Tancred and Mr. T. Russell being members of the Executive Council without office.¹ The Domett Ministry was considered

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favourable to the doctrine that the Imperial Government, and not the colony, should be responsible for native affairs. But at this juncture the Governor received the sanction of the Home Government to the placing of native affairs under the control of the Assembly. The House considered the subject, and on the 19th August agreed to the following resolutions by a majority of nine: “That in the opinion of this House the relations between his Excellency the Governor and his responsible advisers should rest upon the following basis: 1. That Ministers should, in conformity with the Royal Instruction, advise the Governor in native affairs (as well as in colonial affairs) whenever his Excellency desires to obtain such advice, and should also tender advice on all occasions of importance, when they deem it their duty in the interests of the colony to do so. 2. That Ministers should, at his Excellency's request, undertake the administration of native affairs, reserving to his Excellency the decision in all matters of native policy. 3. That as the decision in all matters of native policy is with his Excellency, the advice of Ministers shall not be held to bind the colony to any liability, past or future, in connection with native affairs, beyond the amount authorized, or to be authorized, by the House of Representatives.” (Similar resolutions were subsequently moved in the Legislative Council, but, after debate, were withdrawn.)

Sir George Grey reported that he had consented to act in the spirit of these resolutions until further instructions might reach him. He did so, because he was satisfied that, whatever the theoretical relations might be, practically, while he was in New Zealand, the result would be the same. He hoped that when existing difficulties were brought to a close the Assembly would assume responsibility for native affairs, at the desire of the Secretary of State. The House having thus crystallized its intentions, proved its carelessness about the men whose duty it might be to obey them, by acquiescing in the remodelling of the

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Ministry. Mr. Gillies immediately vacated and Mr Sewell occupied the post of Attorney-General. Mr. Mantell similarly gave way to Mr. Crosbie Ward in the Post Office, but remained in the Executive Council. Mr. Bell vacated the Treasury for the returning Mr. Reader Wood: and the chief result was that Mr. Domett succeeded Mr. Fox, and Mr. F. Dillon Bell held office as Secretary for Native Affairs. The Fox Ministry was in office without. Mr. Fox. When Mr. Fox retired, the Governor expressly recorded his high sense of the cordial and generous support invariably afforded by his old accuser; and on the remodelling of the Ministry by Mr. Domett, the Governor told the Secretary of State that the “policy of the Government in all its main features closely resembled that of the previous Government.” The House passed a measure for raising a loan to meet past liabilities, and future exigencies in native affairs; and while it was yet in session, peremptory instructions from the Imperial Treasury commanded the Deputy Commissary-General to make no more payments by loan or otherwise for any colonial need whatever. The working pay of military parties on the road to Waikato was stopped. Taranaki militia pay, and rations, as previously provided by the Imperial Exchequer, were thenceforth to cease. Immediate re-imbursement of past payments was temporarily waived by the Treasury, and the waiver was to constitute “the aid to be afforded from Imperial resources.” Sir George Grey deplored the unexpected suddenness of the decision, which was the more unfortunate as the Assembly had just voted a sum to defray all advances from the military chest, previously made for militia and similar charges.

The Legislative Council addressed the Queen. On the plea that the colonists had not exercised real control they urged that the expense of war ought to fall on the Home Government. The government of the Maoris could not justly be handed over to the colonists at such a crisis. After establishment of peace they would be willing to undertake it. The address was lengthy. The representatives sent similar remonstrances. They declared also that the step taken by Sir George Grey of demitting Maori control to the Assembly was taken without their concurrence, and that the condition of the colony forbade them to close with the Duke of Newcastle's offer of acceptance of such a policy.

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They, too, thought themselves justified in asserting that the Imperial Government had originated the war. They took upon themselves to criticize the conduct of it “by inefficient and incompetent commanders,” whom there was no local authority to remove. They prayed for material aid, and would, as far as their “means would allow,” bear burdens. They would relieve the English Government of the anxiety of Maori management, “if the power is given and the help continued to us that will make our efforts hopeful.” They “respectfully declined” the Duke of Newcastle's proposal, not as shrinking unworthily from proper burdens, “but because we seem to discover in the despatches an intention to withdraw from engagements to which the British nation is honourably bound, and to transfer to the colony liabilities and burdens which belong properly to the Empire.” It was fit that such equivocating words should be addressed to the Minister who had disgraced the English name in 1860, by approving the rape of the Waitara. It would have been too galling for another man to defend so base a position. The culprit himself could not express his meaning without writing a despatch as long as an evening lecture. He approved of Sir George Grey's conduct, and added: “I congratulate myself on the circumstance that the Government of New Zealand is in the hands of an officer whose personal character will secure him a due influence in the affairs of the colony, independently of the terms in which the General Assembly may recognize his authority.” He was able to refer to the constant jealousy and encroachment by the Colonial Government upon the Governor's powers relating to the native race, and, as far as he could without condemning his own conduct in 1860, he strove to throw the onus of causing the war upon the local Ministry. “I need hardly inform the framers of these memorials that the slow progress of land sales under the auspices of the Native Department, and therefore under the control of the Imperial Government, was an object of complaint to the settlers, and that these complaints were particularly urgent in New Plymouth, and referred especially to the land in the neighbourhood of the Waitara. The decision to complete, by force if necessary, the purchase of that land was adopted at the advice not of the Native Department, but of the Executive Council, and the proclamation of martial

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law was transmitted to the officer in command under the signature of the chief responsible Minister. It was under this pressure, with this advice and through this agency, that Governor Browne took the steps that led to the war—steps which, although I thought it my duty to sanction them, were in a direction opposite to that which a purely Imperial policy would have dictated. It is in this state of facts that the two legislative bodies of New Zealand, without alleging that Colonel Browne's acts were unwise, or that they were dictated by any Imperial policy or instructions, without denying that they arose, on the contrary, from a desire to promote colonial interests in a way which the colonists themselves demanded, and by proceedings which the responsible Ministers formally advised, do not hesitate to repudiate all responsibility in the matter, and to charge the Home Government with the authorship of their sufferings.”

In accusing the colonists justly, the Duke was convicting himself. He, knowing that justice and good faith, towards the treaty of Waitangi as well as to Imperial interests, were opposed to the dealings at Waitara, had nevertheless sanctioned them. The brave and true advice of Sir Robert Peel and Lord Stanley of old time was discarded; and now, when evil had resulted, the accomplices in crime vented diplomatic recriminations against each other. The Duke animadverted on the reluctance of the militia to serve beyond their own districts, and the desire of the colonists to throw on the Imperial Exchequer the cost of constructing roads. He declared that England would not, as seemed to be desired, “recognize the obligation of supporting the burden to which Great Britain is now subject until the authority of the law is re-established.” He pointed out that it was notorious, and admitted by the representatives, that the allegiance of the natives had never been more than nominal. He urged that a New Zealand legislator (Mr. Fitzgerald) had stated that he knew of “no race at any period of the world's history which had made in so short a period so great a stride,”— and he claimed some credit for the Imperial Trusteeship, which before the year 1856 was real and effective in producing such a result, though it was mainly brought about by ministers of religion. He did not expect the colonists to exact more thorough

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allegiance from the Maoris than had hitherto been rendered, but would recognize no indefinite obligation on the Imperial Government to coerce the natives. In conclusion, he told the Governor that the consent of the colonists was not needed to make effectual the resignation by the Home Government of control. It was complete by the act of the Home Government. If the Governor should resume or retain control of the Native Department it would not be in obedience to instructions, but “at request of his responsible Ministers or under some pressing necessity occasioned by their action or inaction, for the consequences of which therefore the Home Government would not be responsible.” Of course the Governor would exercise negative power if Imperial rights should be invaded, or the faith of the Crown under the Waitangi treaty were jeopardized, or injustice were attempted. He might have to appeal from his advisers to the Assembly, or from the Assembly to the constituencies, and he would, as to employment of the Queen's forces, be responsible, with the officer in command. The maintenance of those troops in New Zealand entitled the Home Government to a potential voice in requiring justice and liberality to the Maoris. The control of the army would ensure attention to the words of a Governor who had been selected as the fittest adviser and administrator for the colony. The idle compliments with which the despatch concluded were swept into insignificance by the whirlwind which occurred in New Zealand. The Home Government had not been able to comprehend the gravity of the situation. They had sent Sir George Grey as the worthiest man for a particular office, and they gave him a half-hearted support. He was to walk as the Duke of Newcastle desired, although, as shown by his own despatches, the Duke himself was incapable of walking in the road which he knew to be right.

In the scheme proposed by the Governor soon after his arrival, military men were specially asked for as Civil Commissioners. Strong reasons were given, and some others ought to have been patent to a functionary who perceived that many colonists lusted lawlessly for the lands of the Maoris. But the Duke allowed the request to slumber for more than three months in Downing Street, before he replied: “I doubt whether under present military regulations, an officer can be detached from his regi-

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ment to serve as Commissioner in a native district; but in case this should prove practicable, Her Majesty's Government can only assent on the understanding that the whole pay of the officer shall be defrayed by the colony.” Sir George Grey urged that serious consequences might arise from inability to do what he wished, and that the desired arrangement had been allowed ever since he had been in the service of the Crown. “I assure your Grace,” he added, “that a most serious crisis is impending here, and that I require all the aid and support, physical and moral, that can be given me.” Thus adjured, the Duke consulted the War Office, and, fifteen months after Grey had made his request, the Commander-in-Chief forwarded to General Cameron a discretionary power to allow the employment of officers. Such tardy compliance, at such a crisis, was of course too late. Had the Lord Derby of 1845 been at Downing Street, no such provocation of evil would have increased the Governor's troubles.

The Duke is entitled to credit for promptitude on one point. The New Zealand Ministry desired to carry roads through lands over which the native title was not extinguished. In November, 1862, the Attorney-General, Sewell, gave a formal opinion that the Crown in spite of the Waitangi Treaty could, in conformity with “the essential conditions of sovereignty,” seize upon Maori lands required for roads. He saw technical objections to grasping them under local enactment, because the powers of the General Assembly did not enure until Maori lands had been ceded to the Crown. He could find no express authority for his advice, but referred generally to Books I. II. and III. of Vattel. Mr. F. D. Fenton, assistant law officer, knew something of Maori laws, and Maori temperaments. Without delay (28th November)¹ he interposed. He could “not avoid the conclusion that (Sewell's) opinion was erroneous in law.” He explained his reasons, and suggested that the matter, serious as it might prove, should be reconsidered. Mr. Sewell retired on the 1st January, 1863, without giving a further opinion. Mr. Whitaker took office as Attorney-General without ministerial responsibility. His opinion, as might have been expected, agreed with that of Sewell. He who saw no objection to the

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pillage of the principal chief, and the denial of tribal rights at Waitara, was not the man to shrink from robbing unnamed Maoris, whose lands would be seized in order to make a road from Taranaki to Tataraimaka. “It may be objected,” he said (21st February), “that this would be contrary to the treaty of Waitangi. To this I answer that a positive enactment of the legislature would prevail over the terms of the treaty if there were any conflict.” But he urged that a right to make roads, as essential to sovereignty, must be implied to have been ceded to the Queen. That a man called a lawyer could honestly think that the terms of a treaty could be cancelled by one of the contracting parties without consultation of the other can hardly be believed. On the contrary and credible assumption, the student may learn the rough and dishonest measures which Mr. Whitaker was ever ready to apply to the Maoris. Sir George Grey, like Mr. Fenton, saw imminent dangers. He told the Duke of Newcastle in December, 1862, when transmitting Sewell's opinion, that the natives would probably “resist by force of arms.” In forwarding Whitaker's he drew attention to the subject as “most important” (24th February). The Duke of Newcastle's susceptibility as to the honour of the Crown was not so weak as to be overborne by the robber-logic of Mr. Whitaker, or by the abstruse generalities of Sewell. He had in March¹ dealt with the latter. He would “hesitate to admit as a matter of strict law that Her Majesty had the power, without any legislative sanction, of appropriating for any purpose the acknowledged property of any of her subjects. But even if it were true that the peculiar legal condition of New Zealand authorized the application of this arbitrary principle, I am of opinion that the question cannot be dealt with as one of strict law.” Policy as well as justice required that the expectations which the Maoris had been allowed to form, as to the good faith of the Crown and the treaty of Waitangi, should be loyally respected by the Government. Regretting the want of roads to accommodate the Taranaki community, he did not think their advantage should be purchased by the re-imposition of the burdens of a war on which, thus originating, “Her Majesty's troops ought not to be employed. I need hardly add that I

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shall view with more than regret the adoption by your Government of the course which appears to be indicated in the enclosures to your despatch.”

The receipt of Mr. Whitaker's opinion only caused the Duke to say (May, 1863) that his despatch in March had explained his views fully. It is a pleasure to extract from musty folios something creditable to the Duke of Newcastle; but the pleasure is alloyed by the reflection that if he had been as firm in 1859 and 1860, he might have prevented war. Perhaps apprehension rather than wisdom had changed him. In June, 1861, he had told Sir George Grey not to waver. “It would be better to prolong the war with all its evils than to end it without producing in the native mind such a conviction of our strength as may render peace not temporary and precarious but well grounded and lasting.” In May, 1862, he could “hold out no hopes of the continuance of a large body of troops in New Zealand;” and his words became harder by degrees. In August, 1862, he was stirred by the War Office (on complaint by General Cameron) to express surprise at the shortcomings of the Colonial Government in maintaining militia. He grumbled at the Governor for his reluctance to part with the soldiers sent from New South Wales and Victoria. The apathy of the colonists was inexcusable. “I must plainly tell you that unless all cause of complaint is speedily removed, a large portion of the troops now stationed in New Zealand will be recalled without delay. It is my duty to call for an immediate report.” Like the offended servant in the comedy, the Duke when rated by his colleagues vented his spleen on his subordinate. Sir George Grey at once asked for copies of the letters which caused the rebuke and that the Duke would support an officer serving under him by insisting that in future all such documents should be supplied. He had furnished reports, had reduced expenditure, and could only regret that it was thought necessary to censure himself and his Government so severely and so frequently. Events, he hoped, would modify the opinions in England. For himself he was sure that to make roads and encourage peace was wiser than to force one race to take up arms against the other. He still hoped Her Majesty's Government would see reason to approve of what he had done.

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The Assembly had conferred upon the Governor power to deal with native reserves, and issue grants. The Civil List grant for native purposes had been raised from £7000 to £26,000. The grant of £5 for each soldier in the colony had been secured by law; and the yearly grant of £7000 for native schools was retained. A Loan Act for half a million sterling had been passed. A special colonial defence force had been authorized by enactment. The Militia Act of 1858 had been amended, and a penalty of £5 for failure of attendance had been enacted. An amended Native Districts Regulation Act enabled the Governor to cause seizure of spirits removed to certain districts, and thus one complaint made by the king-maker was obviated. The Native Circuit Courts Act of 1858 was amended. A Native Lands Act had been passed, not exactly in the form desired by the Governor, but accepted by him as the soundest which the Assembly would pass. He had desired to introduce, gradually, direct dealings in land between European and Maori, to an extent not exceeding one farm for one European, such transactions being dependent on personal occupation by the European under penalties enforced by the Government. The native runanga was to concur in the sale to make it valid.

Unfortunately the Fox Ministry shrunk from what they called the stringency of these terms upon the European. The Domett Ministry shared the objections of their predecessors, and the Bill was introduced in a form which recognized the right of a Maori to deal with his land after the native ownership had been ascertained by Courts to be established for the purpose. The resolutions of the House (19th August) as to the relations between the Governor and his advisers having left the decision in matters of native policy to the Governor, the Ministry felt that it was unfair to proceed with the Bill without his approval. On the 24th August they said they would withdraw it if he could not approve it, but were willing to introduce modifications at his request. He replied (25 August), that understanding from them that the principle of the measure was that natives should be allowed to have as good a title to their lands as Europeans, and to obtain the value by sale or letting, he agreed to it. Again, in September, he was urged to allow it to be said in the Council that the measure was acceptable to him, in order

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to ensure its passing. He answered: “I have always thought and still think that the plan I proposed for the recognition of the title of the natives to their lands, and for the gradual occupation of the country, by European proprietors agreeable to the natives of the district, was best adapted to the circumstances of the country, and most likely to produce permanently beneficial results. At the same time, as there appears no hope of my succeeding in convincing a majority of the Assembly that my views are the soundest and best, I think the recognition of the title of the natives to their lands a matter of such importance, that I will, as I have before stated, accept the Bill in the form in which it passed the House of Representatives for transmission to the Imperial Government; and I think, upon the whole, it can be so worked as to produce beneficial results at this crisis.”

Mr. Sewell, the Attorney-General, objected so strongly to the recognition of Maori title, that he remonstrated against the Bill while it was before the Legislative Council of which he was a member. The reply of his colleagues may be seen, by the curious, in blue-books. The Native Minister, Mr. F. D. Bell, drew up a commentary on the Bill and its progress, in which he took credit for the moderation of the Governor's advisers, who could command a majority of three to one in favour of their original measure. Thus the Governor, while rebuked by the Secretary of State for not doing more, was congratulated by his advisers upon being allowed to do so much. It was a great advance towards justice to provide a Court to “ascertain and declare who according to native custom are the proprietors of any native lands, and the estate or interest held by them therein.”

By slow degrees the prayers of Sir William Martin, Bishop Selwyn, and Te Waharoa, had prevailed in a measure. But the nature of the Court was peculiar. “It shall be lawful for the Governor from time to time by Commission or Order in Council to constitute a Court or Courts for the purpose of ascertaining, &c.” Under such a provision, a wise Governor bent upon doing good might do it. But an unwise one could commit any act of folly or injustice. No enduring Court was created. An upright Judge in one case might never be re-employed. A pliant tool might calculate upon being re-hired. The Courts were to be occasional, and the judiciary the mere creature of the Executive

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at pleasure. Under such an Act, Colonel Browne, when once moved to conspire with the land-lusters of Taranaki, might have concocted a Court which would have dealt with Te Rangitake as Parris stirred byC. W. Richmond's private letters had dealt.

The lands south of Taranaki were still void of the settlers driven from them by the Ngatiruanui and Taranaki tribes during the war of 1860, and were ostensibly held by the natives in right of reconquest, which was considered in itself a sufficient reason for giving vitality to the Native Lands Act only by authority of the Governor. Whether the Bill would have been beneficial if no war had broken out in 1863, it is impossible to say. In fact its provisions were not largely used. Nominally trusted by all, the Governor was nevertheless suspected. The nominee Legislative Council feared that he or his advisers sought to impair their independence by creation of new members. An address was sent to the Queen praying that their number might be limited to three-fourths of that of the other House. The Councillors had reason for their fears. Mr. Fox had presented, and Sir G. Grey had transmitted, a memorandum urging that power ought to be given to add to the number of the Council before the next Session. In his opinion the Governor ought to have power to increase the Council from time to time by an additional number of ten members. The Duke of Newcastle's reply was inconsequential (26th March, 1862): “Having fully considered the recommendation and the grounds upon which it is made, I think it best, while withdrawing the limitation of the number of the Council, to refrain from imposing any restriction when none has been imposed by the Legislature. I shall therefore advise Her Majesty simply to repeal by an additional Instruction the limit which is now placed on the extension of the Legislative Council, and that Instruction will be transmitted to you as soon as the necessary forms will admit of its completion.” On the pretence of reluctance to impose restrictions the Duke was willing by the removal of a restriction upon the Governor to subject a whole branch of the Legislature to the caprice of the local Executive.

Other difficulties existed at the time. The General reported secretly to England what he ought, if he touched it at all, to have brought before the New Zealand Government. The Maoris

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after the wrong done at Waitara, were slow to trust the local government. The seizure of Rauparaha by Grey in old time was now deservedly a stumbling-block in his way. The Assembly, while resolving that the Governor must be responsible for native affairs, would not legislate in the manner which seemed to him fittest to inspire the natives with confidence about their lands. The Duke of Newcastle, though he had in 1846 contested Nottingham against the active opposition of his own father, would give no blank charter to a Governor who was under his authority.

Emboldened by success in arms, the proud Maori race had learned rashness; while greed and obstinacy prevented many colonists from becoming just, generous, or wise. Confessedly critical, the position presented hideous possibilities. While admiring the noble qualities of the Maoris, Sir George Grey knew the atrocious savagery of their modes of warfare, to which they might recur in sudden raids on the settlers if a national rising should be provoked. Torture, mutilation, and cannibalism were the ancient demons of war; and women and children were their victims. It is just to those who supported Mr. Fitzgerald to record the gallant attempt made by him to procure for the Maori race some representation in the Legislature. He carried a resolution recognizing the right of all Her Majesty's subjects, of whatever race, to a full and equal enjoyment of civil and political privileges. He moved that such recognition “necessitated the personal aid of one or more native chiefs in the administration of the government of the colony,—the presence of members of the Maori nobility in the Legislative Council,— and a fair representation in this House of a race which constitutes one-third of the population of the colony.” There were seventeen Ayes and twenty Noes. Supporting Mr. Fitzgerald were Mr. Atkinson, Mr. Dillon Bell, Mr. Brandon, Mr. Carter, Mr. Fitzherbert, Mr. Fox, Mr. Gillies, Mr. G. Graham, Mr. Mantell, Mr. Moorhouse, Mr. Renall, Mr. C. J. Taylor, Mr. Waring Taylor, Mr. Watt, Mr. John Williamson, and Mr. Wood. There were two Richmonds (not Mr.C. W. Richmond), and Mr. Weld, among the victorious twenty, who thus rendered impossible what seemed to them a wild experiment, but was in a few years to be accepted as a plain necessity. It is more

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grateful to record the names of Mr. Fitzgerald's supporters than those which were enrolled against him.

Suspicions at Waikato were meanwhile strengthened. It was foreseen that a road to Waikato would enable the English to throw troops into the district and endanger Ngaruawahia. Rewi and the war faction began to predominate. The king-maker vainly urged the runanga to accept the proposal of the Government to investigate fairly the Waitara dispute. Rewi commanded a majority. When the military road to Te Ia on the Waikato was completed, and the Queen's Redoubt at the terminus made capable of holding 1000 men, Sir George Grey caused a branch road to be made to the bank of the Maungatawhiri, and timber was conveyed thither to form a landing-stage. Dreading the construction of a bridge, the Maoris were scarcely appeased by being told that the Governor did not mean to build a bridge till the next year, when he hoped their opposition would be withdrawn. Another proposed road excited them more violently. Wiremu Nera and his people had agreed to make a road from Raglan, on the west coast, near Whaingaroa harbour, to Watawata on the Waipa river, not many miles above its junction with the Waikato at Ngaruawahia. Troops landed at Raglan could by such a road take the Maori capital in rear while it was assailed in front by forces arriving by the military road to Te Ia, and by steamers on the Waikato river. Maori claims to land were put forward, and Maori eloquence was vainly used, to deter Wiremu Nera from his project.

War meetings were held, and when a day was fixed for cutting down trees upon the line an armed band went from Rewi's settlement at Kihikihi to stop the work by force. They received a stern message from the king-maker. Wiremu Nera had been his father's comrade, and whoever assailed him must fight the Ngatihaua and their chief. The road question must be settled by Wiremu Nera's tribe and his own. The interlopers retired. The king-maker appealed to Wiremu Nera to desist from a scheme which would place Waikato at the Governor's mercy. The king's sister, Te Paea, who was said to have more of Te Whero Whero's disposition than had descended to her royal brother, with her own hands pulled up the stakes with which the road had been marked out. Thus adjured, and

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confronted by the opposition of nearly all Waikato, Wiremu Nera agreed to begin his road-making at Raglan, on Queen's territory. His men were satisfied with payment by the Government, and the uproar ceased. Mr. Gorst meantime was troubled at Te Awamutu. Bishop Selwyn and the Church Missionary Society had 200 acres of land at Otawhao, close to the spot. They gave it up to the Government. There were 800 other acres which the Maoris had granted for an industrial school and hospital during Sir George Grey's former government. They were less trustful now, and said that the grant had lapsed by ten years' neglect to use it. The war-party failed to induce the king to take violent measures. It was decided not to drive Mr. Gorst away; but as his magisterial functions had been foiled by preventing a resort to them, so now it was resolved to prevent the erection of the school-buildings by forbidding sales of timber. When in spite of the prohibition two trees were sold, Rewi's friends wished to take them back, but the majority declined to commit an act which might be called theft. More timber was obtained, and the school prospered. The Government provided a teacher of reading, writing, and arithmetic. The trades of the carpenter, blacksmith, wheelwright, shoemaker, tailor, and printer were taught. Agriculture and pastoral pursuits were not neglected. Te Oriori, a leading chief, patronized the school. The king-maker, and even Rewi, visited the institution so strangely established in the heart of the king's territory.

The Maori councillors revolved the state of affairs while “the English Committee” was making laws in 1862. On the 2nd September, Waharoa issued a curt summons “from the whole runanga” to the tribes, to assemble at Peria on the 21st October. An account by a Maori declares that “the cause of the runanga was to lay down laws for the good of this island.” Mr. Gorst says it was called to discuss the Waitara question. Rewi has publicly stated that he and Te Rangitake consented that there should be “a careful investigation” of the Waitara dispute, but that at Peria the Maoris decided otherwise. The meeting was full of dramatic incident. Bishop Selwyn attended.¹

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The preliminary proceedings were closed on the 23rd October with evening prayer. On the following day the king-maker, who presided, announced the subjects to be discussed, and fixed in the ground two sticks, one for the “Ayes,” the other for the “Noes.” 1st. Maungatāwhĭrĭ (i. e. the Governor's dreaded road, bridge, and steamer). 2nd. Whaingaroa (i. e. the road from Raglan). 3rd. Native land disputes. After animated speeches the chiefs voted by depositing small sticks by the mark for the Noes. The decision was—Waikato is closed. Discussion on the land question was postponed. The Bishop asked when Waitara and Tataraimaka would be touched upon. Te Waharoa said his personal desires had been overruled, and those subjects would not be dealt with. It was resolved that disputes should be inquired into and judged by law. There was a debate about debts and Pakehas. It was determined that existing debts should be paid, and that resident Europeans should not be molested. On the 26th, Te Waharoa preached a sermon on the text: “Behold, how good and joyful a thing it is, brethren, to dwell together in unity.” He expatiated on the glorious results of banding the Maoris together under one king, as contrasted with the former ravages of inter-tribal wars. The Maoris, gathered from far, from Tauranga and Napier on the east, and Wanganui and Taranaki on the west, were warmed by his eloquence. To counteract it, Bishop Selwyn preached in the afternoon in Maori, inculcating from the same text a wider unity than that enjoined by Waharoa. On the following day the Bishop asked for audience on three subjects: Let there be one law. Let Waitara be investigated. Let Tataraimaka be re-occupied by its Pakeha proprietors. He was heard. In their own figurative manner he pressed his views upon the chiefs. Solemnly at the close he appealed to the king, to the king-

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maker, and to all the tribes, to consent to the good plans for peace. Opposition speeches were made. Some votes were given against the Bishop's proposals. Hauraki (Thames) Maoris seated themselves in the middle, and were claimed by the Bishop's friends. The Nestor of the Hauraki men replied: “No, we are sitting in the centre:” pointing to the two sticks, he added, “there is death here, and death there.” An old man went up to the Bishop, and thrice repeated: “Do you consent that the king shall stand?” “I consent to there being one law, whether by the Queen, the Governor, or Matutaera; whether carried out by a Pakeha or Maori runanga. I consent to there being one law for us all. This is what I consent to.” This reply was deemed unsatisfactory. The old man pointed out that the Bishop called their king only Matutaera, and gave as his own verdict: “Let there be one law, but let the authority be divided into two.”

In the ensuing discussion the king-maker acknowledged a change of opinion, caused by the deceitfulness of the Ministers, the occupation of Te Ia, and the Governor's letter to Matutaera (on the occasion of the march towards Coromandel) threatening that the king would be punished by-and-by. The Bishop repudiated all intention of deceit. Voters came forward for the Bishop. Kihirini, an old chief of Middle Waikato, sat by the Bishop, and said he would have voted for him but for the occupation of Te Ia. The Ngatikahungunu tribe began to speak, and their chief, a friend of the Bishop, advised him that as he had opened the subject, the Maoris would get on better by themselves. The Bishop (called Pihopa Herewini) left with the conviction—That the king's friends were more friendly than before. That their tenacity for their king was unabated. That the east coast tribes were most vigorous in opposition to the Pakeha. That all acknowledged the necessity of one law. That the difficulty was to reconcile unity of law with duality of “mana.” That it would not be impossible to bring about a compromise, on the basis approved by the Secretary of State, that Matutaera and his Council might make laws to be presented to the Governor for confirmation, like the laws of the New Zealand provinces. That there was absolutely no trace of hostility of race, and no unanimity even on the subject of

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division of races. But though the Bishop obtained no vote of approval, he had won friends, and persuaded the king-maker to make a final effort for peace. After the Peria meeting the king-maker went to Kihikihi and formally asked Rewi and Te Rangitake to agree to the investigation of the Waitara title as proposed by the Governor. Rangitake refused, and the Ngatimaniapoto supported him. The king-maker asked that Tataraimaka should be restored to its European owners. The Ngatimaniapoto refused even this. In sorrow the king-maker retired. To quarrel with his countrymen could not promote the Maori nationality, which he had at heart, and he saw no alternative but submission. The times were out of joint, and would not be set right by him. Yet he ever rebuked the violent by his example. Mr. Gorst reported in March, 1862, that when the king's military guard, established by Rewi's influence, had to be supplied in turn by the Ngatihaua, the king-maker took down men and ploughs, broke up and planted land with potatoes, and said that was the soldiering his tribe could do.

In November, General Cameron represented to Sir George Grey the smallness of his force. It was diminishing in number by reason of drafts of invalids. He had only 2681 effective men to guard Auckland and the long line of communication with the advanced posts. There were more than 700 soldiers at Taranaki, 352 at Wanganui, 274 at Wellington, 271 at Napier, 91 at Otago. This representation was forwarded to England by Sir George Grey on the 27th November, simultaneously with a despatch in reply to the Secretary of State's censure, founded upon General Cameron's complaints that the militia were not duly trained. The Duke of Newcastle had said: “With such a fact before me, I have a right to assume that there are more soldiers in the colony than are required.” Grey deprecated so severe a reprimand, published before he had seen General Cameron's complaint. By such a course a man's “character might be irretrievably ruined, even before he has been accused.” In February, 1863, the Duke ineptly replied, that he wished to blame not Grey but his advisers, and considered that he was thereby strengthening Grey in dealing with his Ministers and the Legislature.

In December, a chief traversed the country from Wanganui

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to Waikato and Auckland. Everywhere he canvassed the condition of the country with the chiefs, and everywhere he found a disposition to maintain the “mana” of the kinG. Grey sent the chief's diary to the Secretary of State; and receiving information of a scheme to massacre the English settlers if he should send a steamer to the Waikato river, he resolved to act. Early on the 1st January, 1863, he started for the Waikato. He met Te Wheoro at Drury, arranged that a canoe should be ready at daylight the next morning at Maungatawhiri, and with a crew of 20 Maoris, some of whom were chiefs and the king's friends, was wafted up the Waikato and landed at Paetai before midnight, being received with hearty welcome. At seven o'clock in the morning 200 natives were assembled. Among them were devoted partisans of the king; but all took off their hats, saluted him as their father, and declared that if he had never left the country the king would not have been heard of. They prepared horses to escort him to Taupiri. Having arrived there early in the day, he pushed on to Ngaruawahia unattended. The king was at Hangatiki. Te Waharoa was at Peria. Te Paea, the king's sister, and a few chiefs were at Ngaruawahia. As the Governor walked about, gazing on the tomb of Te Whero Whero, and the flagstaff of the king, he was recognized and surrounded by the Maoris. They did not say—Come, let us kill him. They called him their father and protector, and many wept tears of joy—with the Maori facility which the custom of “tangi” created. He thanked them and returned to Taupiri. Messengers informed the king, Te Waharoa, and others, of the presence of the Governor. The king was an unskilful horseman, and at Rangiaohia sent a certificate, signed by a missionary and a catechist, to the effect that he could travel no further. The king-maker rapidly reached Ngaruawahia. Other chiefs attended: but Rewi and his partisans were conspicuously absent. The chiefs assembled at their capital were told that they could see the Governor, if they wished, at Taupiri. They proceeded thither, and seated on the ground awaited his appearance. The king-maker rushed forward, seized his hand, welcomed him to Waikato, and amid uncovered heads escorted him to the seat prepared for him. “Welcome our old friend! Welcome the Governor! Welcome our father, the friend of Potatau!

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Welcome, parent of the people!” Such were the cries with which a race denounced as unmitigated savages greeted a Governor who had put himself in their power. Taati of Rangiaohia and the king-maker made orations. The latter said that the king movement had been in the minds of the Maoris long before form and shape were given to it. Under it good laws, approved by the Governor, might be passed. He spoke of Governor Browne as— “ko te mea hohoro ki te riri”—one who was hasty to be angry. He asked, as Tipene had asked, whether Grey was still opposed to the king. Grey replied that he continually studied how to pull him down. “I shall not fight against him with the sword, but I shall dig round him till he falls of his own accord.” It was an unhappy speech, and was never forgotten. It confirmed the worst suspicions of those already distrustful. The chiefs deprecated the introduction of a steamer on the Waikato river. The Governor said they should put one there for themselves; but so useful a thing ought not to be wanted; and, failing other means, he must place one there. He invited them to send a deputation to Auckland to discuss all matters. As the evening closed in he became ill, and the assembly was concluded with loud cheers for the Governor. The king-maker returned to Ngaruawahia, where it was resolved to invite the Governor to visit all the chiefs in the district. He, meanwhile, hurried back to Auckland, postponing his tour till a fitter time—which never arrived. As his canoe passed down by Paetai, Maoris galloped on the river-bank with letters from the king-maker and others, urging him, if health would permit, to visit all the people. He did not visit them, and thus was lost almost the last opportunity of peace.¹ Unless, however,

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he was sincere—and his threat to place a steamer on the Waikato casts doubt upon his professions—his journey must have ended in disappointment. The king-maker and Taati, true to their professions, wrote letters to the Ngatiruanui, urging them to abandon the Tataraimaka block. But Rewi and other chiefs wrote letters of an opposite character, promising (what the king-maker denied) the help of the Waikato if war should ensue from the retention of the Tataraimaka lands.

On the 3rd February, 1863, Mr. Parris wrote from Taranaki: “I am of opinion that Tataraimaka ought to be taken possession of without a renewal of hostilities if carefully managed, by stationing not less than 100 troops there.” The blunders of 1859 ought to have prevented the Ministry from putting any faith in this statement, which was accompanied by another to the effect that the Ngatiruanui tribe kept their district closed, not only against Europeans but against natives serving the Queen. The Governor himself could hardly be deceived, for on the 9th and 14th February he forwarded to England hostile Maori letters which were sent to him by friendly chiefs, to warn him of danger. One, dated in December, 1862 (sent to Tauranga from Taranaki), urged immediate war if the steamer should be placed on the Waikato river. “Fire upon her at once…. If we see that the Governor takes forcible possession of Waireka and Tataraimaka we will slay him at once.”¹

In the end of February the Governor went to Taranaki. He had no sooner gone thither than troubles arose about timber carried on rafts from Maungatawhiri for construction of police-barracks at Te Kohe-kohe where Te Wheoro loyally served the Queen. The king's runanga debated a whole night, and instructed Te Wheoro that Waikato would take back the timber to the Queen's land. An armed band arrived to carry the threat into execution. Te Wheoro was staunch, although Tamati Ngapora and others urged him to give way. Argument lasted for two days. Then the orators left the army to work. The Kohe-kohe Maoris watched the timber. After waiting all day for an opportunity, the army proceeded to throw the timber into

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the river. Twelve Maori women and eight men dragged it back as quickly as it was thrown in. The sharp edges drew blood from the excited strugglers, but no blows were struck. The weary army abandoned its unwarlike work. Only six pieces of wood had floated away, and they were afterwards recovered. The Governor, at Taranaki, advised the stoppage of the pensions of Tamati Ngapora and his abettors, increased the salaries of Te Wheoro and others, and gave £5 a year to each of the gallant Maori women, and a watch to each of the eight men. To Tamati Ngapora he offered an inquiry, and stopped his pension until a satisfactory explanation could be given. Ngapora was not one of those who could be bought, and the attempt was one of Fouché's blunders. The war-party of Ngaruawahia took stronger measures. They sent more men under Wi Kumete to remove the timber by force. Mr. Gorst met them at Rangiriri. Wi Kumete showed him some spirits which he had captured from a canoe importing them in defiance of the Maori law. Undeterred by Mr. Gorst's remonstrances Wi Kumete went to Te Kohe-kohe, threw the timber into the river, bound it in rafts, and sent a message to the officer in command at the Queen's Redoubt. If provided with safe-conduct the Maoris would land the timber at Te la; if not they would let the rafts drift on the river. Kumete received permission to land the timber unmolested; kept spectators off with ropes and stakes, and a guard of his own soldiers; landed the timber; returned triumphantly to Te Kohe-kohe, and suggested that Mr. Gorst and all his surroundings at Te Awamutu should be removed in like manner. The Maoris had put up a post at Maungatawhiri on the Queen's land, with a notice: “This is the Pakeha boundary. The water belongs to the Maoris.” Mr. Gorst had pulled up the post, but Kumete re-erected it, and declared that Mr. Gorst's conduct demanded his expulsion.

Mr. Fitzgerald, in a letter to Mr. Adderley, charged Sir George Grey with wrongly striving to build a bullet-proof redoubt at Kohe-kohe under the name of a court-house. Sir George Grey's denial of the charge as untrue contained ample proof that it was reasonable. The despatch (April, 1865) to Mr. Cardwell, introduced his responsible advisers upon the scene. In May, 1862 (Fox, Premier), they recommended that a court-house

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should be built. Tawhiao forbade it. In June, 1862, the same advisers advised that “a barrack for the accommodation of a native police force should be added to the court-house about to be built.” Sir George Grey thought that Te Wheoro the friend of the English “ought to be allowed to protect himself from violence in his own village, and that preparations should be made to resist the rebellion which I feared was about to break out, and I therefore acquiesced in the advice tendered to me.” All this might be true, and yet Mr. Fitzgerald's¹ charge might be irrefutable. As it was perfectly well known to Sir George Grey and his advisers that the erection of any stronghold within the king's territory was tantamount to an act of war, the explanation to the Secretary of State did not convey the whole truth. When Kumete re-erected the boundary-mark pulled down by Mr. Gorst he showed the significance attached by the Maoris to the proceedings of the Government. The expulsion of Mr. Gorst was undertaken by the pertinacious Rewi; and though the narrative somewhat overlaps the course of events at Taranaki, it may be told in connection with the contest at Kohe-kohe.

In addition to the school at Te Awamutu there was an official newspaper² devoted to countervail a Maori newspaper published by the king party at Ngaruawahia. The latter bore the evil name, ‘The Hokioi,’ a mythical invisible bird known only by its scream; the omen of war or other scourge. Patara, cousin of the king, was the editor. The Governor's paper was called “The Pihoihoi Mokemoke,” the solitary lark.³ An article on the evils of the king's government gave great offence by alluding to a gross but unpunished crime. If Matutaera had power to punish he was to blame for neglect. If he had not power, but pretended to have it, he was guilty of false pretences.