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Proposals of Mr. Sydney David Taiwhanga, M.H.R., for the Colonization and Settlement of Maori Lands

Proposals of Mr. Sydney David Taiwhanga, M.H.R., for the Colonization and Settlement of Maori Lands

[i roto i te reo Māori]

Title Page

1888.
Proposals of Mr. Sydney David Taiwhanga, M.H.R., for the Colonization and Settlement of Maori Lands.

Wellington: Edwards & Co., General Printers, Brandon Street. 1888.

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Preface.

The chief objects I have in view are:—

1.To secure to the Maoris the management and market value of their own estate.
2.To divide the estate equitably amongst them and to protect their estate from waste.
3.To assimilate the Land, Mining and other Laws of the Colony to Maori Lands.
4.To give facilities for the construction of Public Works and the settlement of people upon the lands.
5.To abolish the Native Land Court and Native Department and thus save the large and wasteful expenditure that has been going" on for years past.
6.That the whole Colony may derive great benefit by the throwing open for settlement, upon the same terms as Crown lands, fourteen million acres, containing some of the best lands in New Zealand.

S. D. Taiwhanga, M.H.R.

Wellington, N.Z. October. 1888.
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Proposals of Mr. Sydney David Taiwhanga, M.H.R., for the Colonization and Settlement of Maori Lands.

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Inalienable Lands.

1.There shall be set apart an area of land equivalent Inalienable Lands. to—acres for each man, woman, and child of the Maori race including half-castes, except Hori Kerei Taiaroa, who is otherwise provided for.
(a.)Such area shall be selected in such parts of North and South Islands as the Maoris may decide upon, and every allotment granted under this provision shall be inalienable.
(b.)The allotments shall be selected by Chiefs and people according to priority in rank.
(c.)A suitable portion of such area shall be set apart for a town.
(d.)Such town shall be vested in the Council as common property of all Maoris (except as aforesaid), and shall be governed by a Council or Board similar to Municipal Councils in other parts of the Colony.
(e.)Rales and Regulations shall be made for the management of the town, the health, and recreation of the inhabitants, the education of the children and generally for the peace, order, and good government of the people, and in pursuance of the 71st section of the "New Zealand Constitution Act 1852."
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Maori Lands.

2.Lands for Sale and Settlement All other lands belonging to Maoris, or to which they may be entitled, including reserves, and whether Crown Granted or not, shall be deemed to be Maori lands, absolutely freed from all tribal and other rites and restrictions whatsoever.
3.Maori Estate. Such lands shall form the Maori estate, and shall be dealt with as hereinafter mentioned.
4.Land and Mining. Laws to apply. The land laws and mining laws of the Colony in force for the time being for the sale, leasing, mining, or other disposition of Crown lands shall apply to Maori lands, and such lands shall be dealt with accordingly.
5.All Maori Lands to be open for application. Subject to existing leases or other tenancies the whole of the Maori lands shall be open for application and settlement.
6.Counties Act to apply. The "Counties Act 1886" shall apply to Maori lands.
7.Lands for roads to vest in the Crown All lands required and appropriated for roads shall vest in the Crown.
8.Lands for public works All lands required for roads, railways and other public Works may be granted without payment to the Crown, or to any public body or company making such railway or public work, and grants of land in aid may be made.
9.Reserve. Reserves may be set apart for public purposes similar to reserves in other parts of the Colony.

Management of Maori Estate.

10.Management of estate by Council. The Maori estate shall be managed by a Council or Board, consisting of Maoris.
(a.)The Council shall be elected in a similar manner as Maori Members of the House of Representatives are now elected, such election to take place triennially, and for the first election the Colony may be divided into four districts each district returning Members.
(b.)The Council so elected shall appoint a President who may be an European and shall hold office during good behaviour or until removed by the unanimous decision of the committee.
(c.)The Council shall be a corporation and have a common seal, and may sue and be sued, and its principal office shall be convenient to the seat of Government.page 5
(d.)The functions of the Council when dealing with Maori lands shall be analagous to the functions of the Lands Boards of the Colony.
(e.)Regulations shall be framed by the Council for the proper conduct and management of business, and all proceedings shall be open to the public, and all plans and other records shall be public records.
(f.)The President and Council shall receive such remuneration for their services as may be decided upon.
(g.)The Council may at any time state a case for the opinion of the Supreme Court and subject thereto all decisions of the Council shall be final and conclusive.

General.

11.The Native Land Court shall be abolished, and all Native Land Court abolished. incompleted business shall be dealt with by the Council or by a special commission.
12.All statutes affecting Maori lauds as above defined, Repeal of statutes, &c. shall be repealed, and all Crown Grants or memorials of ownership affecting lands belonging to Maoris shall be null and void, but without prejudice to any existing contracts affecting the same and save and except "The Taiaroa Land Act 1888," unless Hori Kerei Taiaroa shall consent to conform to these proposals.
13.Crown Grants for Maori lands shall be countersealed Crown Grants to be sealed with the seal of the council. with the seal of the Council, but all Leases, Licenses, &c., shall be sealed with the seal of the Council only.

Finance.

14.The Council may obtain advances for the general Advances. management and cost of survey of the Maori estate, and a lien shall attach to Maori lands for such advances.
15.The proceeds of all sales and of all rents and income The Maori Fund. derivable from the sale letting and disposition of Maori Lands shall be paid into a bank to the credit of the "Maori Estate Account," and all compensation and other monies to which they may be or may become entitled shall form part of the same fund.
16.All salaries, office and other expenses of the Council, Application of Fund. including expenditure on the common property, shall be paid out of the fund.page 6
17.Distribution of Fund. Subject to such expenditure and the repayment of such advances, the fund from time to time available shall be distributed half yearly between and amongst the Maoris in the shares and proportions to which the Chiefs and Maori people are respectively entitled to the same.
18.Application of part of Fund to common purposes. Before making such distribution it shall be competent for the Council to expend such portions of the fund as may be considered necessary in making the common property available for settlement and occupation.
19.Accounts to be audited. The accounts of the Council shall be audited by Public Auditors and published in the Maori and English languages.

Census.

20.Maori census to be taken. As soon as conveniently may be a complete Maori Census shall be taken, distinguishing the Chiefs from the common people.
(a.)The Chiefs may be divided into classes, according to rank and distinction as they may determine, and the shares of each class shall be greater than the shares of the common people in such proportion as they may also determine.
21.Certificates of-shares to be issued. Certificates in accordance with the Census shall be issued to every Maori, representing the share to which he or she is entitled to participate in the Maori Estate Fund, and every distribution thereof, such Certificate shall not be transferable or assignable or be available in bankruptcy.
22.Register of shares to be kept. A Register of such Certificates shall be kept, and upon the death of any holder such Certificate may be transferred or a new Certificate issued to his legal personal representatives.
23.Infant's shares to be applied to their maintenance and education. The shares of infants shall be payable to their parents or guardians for their maintenance and education.

S. D. Taiwhanga, M.H.R.

Wellington, October, 1888.
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The Treaty Of Waitangi

As finally adopted and signed by upwards of five hundred of the principal Chiefs (512), on February 6, 1840. The Treaty of Waitangi appeared in the following form, which we here insert for the sake of easy reference, as the English document only appears once in these pages: —

English Version.

Her Majesty Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, regarding with Her Royal Favor the Native Chiefs and Tribes of New Zealand, and anxious to protect their just Rights and Property, and to secure to them the enjoyment of Peace and Good Order, has deemed it necessary, in consequence of the great number of Her Majesty's subjects who have already settled in New Zealand, and the rapid extension of Emigration both from Europe and Australia which is still in progress, to constitute and appoint a functionary properly authorized to treat with the Aborigines of New Zealand for the recognition of Her Majesty's Sovereign authority over the whole or any part of those islands. Her Majesty, therefore, being desirous to establish a settled form of Civil Government, with a view to avert the evil consequences which must result from the absence of the necessary Laws and Institutions alike to the Native population and to her Majesty's subjects, has been graciously pleased to empower and authorize me, William Hobson, a Captain in Her Majesty's Royal Navy, Consul, and Lieutenant-Governor of such parts of New Zealand as may be, or hereafter shall be, ceded to Her Majesty, to invite the confederated and independent Chiefs of New Zealand to concur in the following Articles and Conditions:—

Article the First.

The Chiefs of the Confederation of the United Tribes of New Zealand, and the separate and independent Chiefs who have not become members of the Confederation, cede to Her Majesty the Queen of England, absolutely and without reservation, all the said Confederation or Individual Chiefs respectively exercise or to possess, or may be supposed to exercise or to possess, over their respective Territories as the sole Sovereigns thereof.

Article the Second.

Her Majesty the Queen of England confirm and guarantees to the Chiefs and Tribes of New Zealand, and to the respective families and individuals thereof, the full, exclusive, and undis-page 8turbed possession of their Lands and Estates, Forests, Fisheries, and other properties which they may collectively or individually possess, so long as it is their will and desire to retain the same in their possession; but the Chiefs of the United Tribes and the Individual Chiefs yield to Her Majesty the exclusive right of Pre-emption over such lands as the proprietors thereof may be disposed to alienate, at such prices as may be agreed upon between the respective proprietors and the persons appointed by Her Majesty to treat with them in that behalf.

Article the Third.

In consideration thereof, Her Majesty the Queen of England extends to the Natives of New Zealand Her Royal protection, and imparts to them all the Rights and Privileges of British subjects.

W. Hobson,
Lieutenant - Governor.

Now, therefore, we, the Chiefs of Confederation of the United Tribes of New Zealand, being assembled in Congress at Victoria, in Waitangi, and we, the Separate and Independent Chiefs of New Zealand, claiming authority over Tribes and Territories which are specified after our respective names, having been made fully to understand the Provisions of the foregoing Treaty, accept and enter into the same in the full spirit and meaning thereof; in witness of which we have attached our signatures or marks at the places and the dates respectively specified.

Done at Waitangi, this sixth day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty.

The first meeting at which this Treaty was presented to the Northern Chiefs for their approval and adoption was held at Mr. Busby's station, at Waitangi, on the 5th and 6th February, 1840; and which was fully reported by the Lieutenant-Governor to His Excellency Sir George Gipps, in the following despatch:

Her Majesty's Ship "Herald,"Bay of Islands, 5th February, 1840.

Sir,

—I have the honor to acquaint Your Excellency that immediately on my arrival here I circulated notices, printed in the Native languages, that on this day I would hold a meeting of the Chiefs of the Confederation, and of the high Chiefs who had not yet signed the Declaration of Independence, for the purpose of explaining to them the commands I had received from Her Majesty the Queen, and of laying before them the copy of a Treaty which I had to propose for their consideration.

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Accordingly, a vast number of Chiefs, with a multitude of followers, crowded in from every quarter, and at 12 this day they assembled under the spacious tents, decorated with flags, which had been previously erected at Waitangi by the direction of Captain Niaz, of this ship.

And so on with several other despatches of Lieutenant-Governor Hobson to His Excellency Sir George Gipps, and also to the Secretary of State for the Colonies.

With the foregoing remarks and extracts from Parliamentary documents, we leave these sheets to the scrutiny of all interested inquirers. However curious they may appear now, they will become much more so as time rolls on; and whatever may be the opinions of the present or future generations as to the policy adopted in 1840, it is certain that, without some such agreement between the two races as was determined by "The Treaty of Waitangi," the Queen's authority and government would never have been so peaceably admitted and established in this country.

H. Hanson Turton.

Wellington, 10th. April, 1887.

The New Zealand Constitution Act.

English Version.

"The New Zealand Constitution Act, 1852."— 15 and 16 Victoria, Cap. 72, Sec.71.

Her Majesty may cause Laws of Aboriginal Native Inhabitants to be maintained.

Passed 30th of June, 1852.

Section 71.—And Whereas it may be expedient that the Laws, Customs, and Usages of the Aboriginal or Native Inhabitants of New Zealand, so far as they are not repugnant to the general principles of Humanity, should for the present be maintained for the Government of themselves, in all their relations to and dealings with each other, and that particular districts should be set apart within which Laws, Customs, or Usages should be so observed. It should be lawful for Her Majesty, by any Letters Patent to be issued under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom from time to time to make Provisions for the purposes aforesaid, any repugnancy of any such Native's Laws, Customs, or Usages, to the Law of England or to in any part thereof, in any wise notwithstanding.