A DOMINION CENTENARY
By PREBENDARY W, WILSON CASH
FEBRUARY 6th, 1940, marks the date of the centenary of the signing of the treaty at Waitangi between the Maoris and the British, under which New Zealand first became a part of the British Empire and ultimately a " self- governing Dominion of the British Commonwealth." Exactly a hundred years ago there met in the Bay of Islands, North Island, representatives of two races, Maori and British. It was to prove the birthplace of New Zealand, Captain Hobson, of H.M.S. frigate 'Herald,' represented the British Government. The scene was laid in front of the British resident's house, where the sailors from the frigate had erected a large marquee for the ceremony. The bay was dotted over with canoes, for the Maoris had assembled in force. To the right, on the far side. of the river, stood the Mission house, where copies of the New Testament were being printed on a very primitive press. To the left there stands today the large cross where the missionaries landed in 1814, the first white people ever to reside on the islands. The marquee was packed to capacity with dark-skinned, tattooed Maoris, British settlers and officers and men from the 'Herald.' Captain Hobson rose to speak. His words, in these days when smaller countries are being assailed by powerful aggressor nations, have a peculiar significance in the clear indication they give of essential British policy.
He said, "Her Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, wishing to do good to the chiefs and people of New Zealand, and for the welfare of her subjects living amongst you, has sent me to this place as Governor. But as the law of England gives no civil powers to Her Majesty out of her domains, her efforts to do you good will be futile unless you consent. Her Majesty has commanded me to explain these matters to you that you may understand them. . . . I will give you time to consider the proposal I shall now offer you. What I wish you to do is for your own good, as you will soon see by the treaty."
The treaty was then read, under the terms of which a pledge was given guaranteeing "to the chiefs and tribes of New Zealand . . . the full, exclusive and undisturbed posses- sion of their lands and estates, forests, fisheries and other properties, which they may collectively and individually possess." The natives were offered "all the rights and privi- leges of British subjects." The document having been read again in a Maori translation, a long debate followed, which displayed the Maori's independence of character, his sense of equality with the white man and his shrewdness of judge- ment. The following day Captain Hobson met the 1Viaoris again, and after further discussion the chiefs came forward, headed by Hone Heke, and signed the treaty. It was not, however, until February 8th that the proceedings were fully complete. The Union Jack was flown at Waitangi and "a salute of twenty-one guns was fired to commemorate the cession to her Majesty of the right of sovereignty of New Zealand."
Such is the event, the centenary of which is now being celebrated. "A nation new-born" is a phrase that at once catches the imagination. How has it come about that two cannibal islands in the Pacific have become a self-governing Dominion of the Empire? What have been the forces operating that have united Maori and British in the making of a nation? To answer these questions it is necessary to go back to an earlier page in New Zealand history. Prior to 1814, New Zealand had been visited by whaling boats and other craft. Captain Cook had called there, but no white people had ever been able to reside in the island. Samuel Marsden, a British chaplain in New South Wales, had met Maoris who had come over to Australia and had formed a very high opinion of them. In 1808 he had visited England and had persuaded the Church Missionary Society to send out a band of missionaries to New Zealand. Owing to the massacre of the crew of the ' Boyd ' by Maoris in die harbour of Whangaroa, permission for the missionaries to proceed from Australia was refused, and it was not until 1814 that the party was able to sail. It was a turning-point in New Zealand history when a small I to-ton boat, the 'Active,' started out from New South Wales for the Bay of Islands. Marsden in his journal gives a full account of the first voyage to New Zealand. The number of persons on board the 'Active,' he records, "including women and children, was 35—Mr. Hanson, master, his wife and son. Messrs. Kendall, Hall and King with their wives and five children, eight New Zealanders, two Otaheitans and four Europeans belonging to the vessel, besides Mr. Nicholas, myself, and two sawyers, one smith, one runaway convict, whom we afterwards found on board. We had also on board one entire horse, two mares, one bull and two cows, with a few sheep and poultry of different kinds intended for the island."
The ' Active ' sailed into the Bay of Islands on Christmas Eve, 1814, and the following day Marsden conducted the first Christian service ever held in New Zealand. Thus began an Anglican Mission under the auspices of the C.M.S. which was destined to alter the whole life, character and culture of New Zealand. Missionaries were the first settlers. They were responsible for reducing the Maori langnage to writing. They opened the first school ever held in the islands, they produced the first books in Maori ever seen and they laid the foundations of a new civilisation that was to link Maori and British in a common nationality. They sowed the first grain ever grown on the islands, and thus were the pioneers in the great expanse of agriculture these islands have shown. Today millions of bushels of wheat and oats, barley and maize are grown on the rich New Zealand soil, but they had their beginning in a small patch of ground in a clearing made by some missionaries. New Zealand has today more than a million head of cattle—a pastoral industry that had its inception in the "bull and two cows" mentioned in Marsden's journal. A visitor to New Zealand today is at once struck by the spirit of friendly co-operation between Maori and British and the complete absence of any element of race superiority. The two races respect each other and both contribute to the culture and civilisation of the Dominions...
The contrast with conditions in South Africa is veil striking. The colour-bar is so pronounced at the Cape as to obtrude itself into all realms of life, whereas New Zealand has achieved something almost unique in its solution of the colour problem by co-operation and good will. Is there not a connexion between Marsden's sermon in 1814 on "peace and good will" and the work of the missionaries on the one hand and the present happy relationship between the two races? "There is no colour-line drawn against the aboriginal New Zealander. Our courts are open to him as to anyone, and whether he be plaintiff or defendant, to him the same even-handed justice is meted out. He travels upon our railways, he rides upon our cars, he sits in our theatres on equal terms with his Pakeha (European) friend. His children are educated in our schools and his sons are absorbed into our Civil Service, his chiefs sit at the Governor's table and his elected representatives sit in Par- liament. The professions are open to him, and there is no position in Church or State which he may not fill." The truth of this is borne out by the fact that one of the Bishops of the Anglican Church in New Zealand is a Maori, and the Maoris are not only represented in Parliament, but from time to time hold Cabinet rank.
The task set by the Treaty was a formidable one. Great Britain was pledged to preserve Maori nationality and at the same time to reconcile it with a rapidly increasing white population and the birth of a new nation that was to be neither exclusively British nor Maori. Difficulties arose and wars were waged, but through all, it is only fair to say, the bargain made a hundred years ago has in the main been kept. When the Treaty of Waitangi was signed there were not more than 2,000 white people in New Zealand. The white population ten years ago was given officially at 1,389,076. While the Aborigines in Australia are a dying race, and contact with civilisation is steadily leading to their extinction, the Maoris under the New Zealand policy are increasing. In 1916 the Maori population was 49,776, while in 1928 it was 65,004, and today it is 89,740.
The British occupation of New Zealand began at a time when Maori fought Maori, when the finest race in the Pacific was decimating its tribes by warfare, blood feuds and raids. Today these people are one as they never were, or could have been, under the old way of life. The unity visible in the corporate life of New Zealand is due not only to the growth of goodwill and understanding, but also to the fact that through British protection these islands were immune from attack by outside Powers.
The principle not always recognised, but none the less the governing factor in the Waitangi Treaty, was that Great Britain has no wish to rule any people by force. The choice was an open one, and the Maoris elected freely to place their lives, their homes, and their land under the British flag. In spite of lapses it is broadly true that ultimately in British rule we either find a way of government by co-operation and goodwill, or we leave the country concerned.
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