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An Epitome of Official Documents Relative to Native Affairs and Land Purchases in the North Island of New Zealand
[Memorandum on the native reserves at Wellington.]
The question of the cultivated lands reserved to the Natives of Port Nicholson and its vicinity is one of some difficulty.
The Government were pledged by an arrangement concluded with the Natives by Governor Fitzroy to secure to them all the pas, burial-places, and grounds actually in cultivation by the Natives: the limits of the pas to be the grounds fenced in around the Native houses or huts, including the ground in cultivation or occupation around the adjoining Native houses or huts without the fence; and the cultivations being those tracts of land which are now used by the Natives for vegetable productions, or which had been so used by any aboriginal natives of New Zealand since the establishment of the colony. This description was very vague; and, as the lands intended to be included in it were not at that time defined, it has now become almost impossible to tell whether many portions of land now in cultivation by the Natives, or which were formerly so, have been occupied by the Natives since the date of this arrangement with Governor Fitzroy, in which case they will of course have no title to them, or whether—though now retaining marks of having been under cultivation—they had ceased to be cultivated before the formation of the colony, in which case also they would be excluded from the class of lands contemplated by Governor Fitzroy. In short, it has become almost impossible to tell what lands were included in this agreement.
The Government have made an attempt to remedy this evil by directing that a survey should be made by Government officers of all portions of land which they regarded as being secured to the Natives by Governor Fitzroy's arrangement. This survey is probably very nearly completed; the amount of land included in it is estimated at about 380 acres, and in this quantity are, I believe, included all lands claimed by the Natives. These lands consist principally of cultivated grounds scattered in small patches of a few acres throughout sections owned by European proprietors, whose farms are in many instances rendered comparatively valueless by the isolated patches of cultivations which are dotted throughout them. As might be anticipated from the looseness of the original agreements and from the circumstance above stated, the settlers in many instances contend that the lands regarded by the Government surveyors as included within Governor Fitzroy's arrangement ought to be excluded from it.
The manner in which the Native reserves have been administered in Port Nicholson has somewhat contributed to increase the evils. I will point out presently in general terms the evils which I believe to have resulted from the mode in which lands were in the first instance reserved for the Natives; but, in addition to these general evils, the following ones peculiar to Port Nicholson will be found to exist: The Company's lands in that district were to a great extent sold to absentee proprietors, and to the present day are only to a very limited extent occupied by Europeans. At the first settlement of Port Nicholson by Europeans the Natives continued as before to cultivate where, and in each position to exactly what extent, they pleased. Those persons who were charged with the administration of the Native reserves were probably from this cause led to believe that as the Natives rarely occupied their reserves they did not require them for the purpose of cultivation or of residence. In this view they resolved to appropriate them for the purpose of raising a future revenue for the Natives, and they let some of the best of the reserves on very long leases to Europeans, who forthwith began to clear and make substantial improvements on them, and in some instances to sublet them. Hence, when, from the spread of European population over the country, the settlers began to require lands which they had purchased, and which were occupied by Natives, the Government found it impossible to put the Natives in possession of their reserves, without which they had no means of subsistence, unless they got rid of the tenants to whom they had been leased, by paying them enormous sums as compensation; and the Natives, having no other lands to go upon, sturdily retained possession of the spots they had occupied. This state of things produced the most serious evils, led to constant and violent disputes between the Europeans and Natives, prevented the progress of the settlement, and afforded a constant ground of dispute between two races of people who could most materially assist each other, and who have positively no other ground whatever of jealousy or difference between them.
The mode by which I have hitherto endeavoured to get rid of this difficulty has been as follows: To ascertain exactly what lands the Natives are entitled to. If they are in possession of lands the bonâ fide property of settlers, as there have been no reserves at my disposals which the Natives could be placed, I have purchased, at the expense of the Government, lands for them, selected by themselves, and of such extent and quality as to render them good and obedient citizens by giving them a valuable and permanent interest in the prosperity of the country; and, having made over these lands to them, I required them to surrender to Europeans the properties to which they were justly entitled.
I proposed in the same manner, in dealing with the question of the other Native cultivations required by Europeans, to inquire in all instances whether the Natives had sufficient lands for their wants, exclusive of those required by the Europeans: if they had, I would encourage them to sell to the Europeans at a moderate price those portions of their cultivations which interfered with the operations of the European settler, and I believe the Natives would in almost every instance gladly accede to an arrangement of this kind.
If the Natives had not sufficient land for their wants exclusive of that portion of
their cultivations which may be required by the settler. I would recommend that the
settler or Company should be required to pay the Government such sums as Colonel
McCleverty may think proper, and that he should thereupon recommend the Government
to purchase for the Natives some portions of land selected by themselves. And it
would be essential that every exchange of this kind should be one which is rather
advantageous to the Natives than otherwise, not only for the purpose of securing
their immediate and cheerful acquiescence in the exchange, but with a view to
secure, together with their comfort, their attachment to the form of government
under which they live. Such an arrangement can be only carried out by an immediate
expenditure for the purchase of the requisite lands on the part of the page 7
Government. If such an expenditure were never to be
refunded I should feel justified in incurring it. A settlement of this vexatious
question, by restoring tranquillity and the confidence of the Natives, will save a
large military and naval expenditure, and will extensively promote an internal
production and commerce: but the fact is, besides producing these advantages, the
expense incurred may very soon be refunded to the Government from the sale of some
of the Native reserves. It may be said, in fact, that the Native reserves are at
present in a great measure unavailable to the Native population, either from their
being leased to Europeans, from their ineligible position, or from the soil not
being adapted to the mode of husbandry at present pursued by the Natives. In lieu,
therefore, of these at present unavailable reserves, the Government is about to put
them in possession of lands adapted to their wants—in other words, to exchange
certain lands for reserves which will consequently not be needed for the future
wants of the Native population and will ultimately form a source from whence the
Government may reimburse itself for the expenditure at present incurred. I have only
to add that much will depend in the settlement of this difficult question upon
judicious management: it would be better in the first instance only to deal with
those cases in which lands under cultivation by Natives, or claimed by them under
Governor Fitzroy's agreement, are required by European settlers. By thus dealing
with individual cases upon their own merits, and only taking cases from time to time
as the Europeans require the land, there will be much less probability of creating
any combination amongst the Natives, or extortionate demands from them. But what at
once should be settled is, what lands are included in Governor Fitzroy's
arrangement: these should at once be defined and surveyed, and the question having
been thus once arranged, no fresh claims should ever hereafter be entertained.