Declaration of Independence - Proof of Ill Intent

8/3/2019 Declaration of Independence - Proof of Ill Intent

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T E HO E 0 . LORDS,OR PRB E TBD BY ROYAL COM.fA D,

IN THE

e ion 1 7-3,( 10 & 2 V rcr0RIlE,)

n~'GO

I TY-O OLUMES.

VOL. VII.

ACCOU TS AND PAPERS,(FOWUCD V W) )

CO TI1HE SUBJECTS ALPHABETICALLY ARR OED.

UBT.KCT8 or THea VOLU :India Ajfai,.,; migralion; Religion in .A,Ultralia i

AjJair of tile Island of Malta; Zealand.

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Enclosure (C.)Eodoeure (C.) LEITER from Jamu Busby, Esq. British Resident at New Zeala71d, tc ) the 'Honoaable. the Colonial. Secretary of N BtD Sm sth W ala.(No. 1.12.) British Reaid~Dcy, Bay of IelaBcl&;Sir, 16th June 1837.IHA.VB the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch of the 16th .timo,which was delivered to me on the 27th of the same month by Captain Hobson of H'i&Majesty's ship Rat.tlesnake. . . . .By my letter of the 4th ultimo, No. 111, his Excellency Sir Richard Bourke would per-ceive that the fears I had formerly expressed, that war was about to break out in this imme-diate neighbourhood, had been realized; but that, contrary to ali expectation. the conduct"of the natives towards the British settlers had been on the whole most exemplary. Iamhappy to add, that it so continued up to the arrival of the Rattlesnake. . I

I Under circumstances so favourable, an attempt w a s made by Captain Hobson, accom-panied by a party. of the missionaries aad myself, to - mediate between the contendm~ ~ties, but without effect. The'chiefs on Pomares' side, whom I formerly represented as beingunfriendly to Pomares' procedure, although in a manner constrained to take put with him,lJet'6 most favourable. to the proposition, and requested that one of two persoos whom theyn~med, of the opposite party, should meet them to adjust the preliminaries; but Pomarehuoself turned a deaf ear -to ellery argument that could be urged.The overtures of the well-disposed chiefs were nevertheless delivered, but. they werereceived by the Ngapulies in the most unfriendly spirit; and, on its being too evideat thatall attempts *t mediaiion were fruitless, Captain Hobson concluded by cautioning them Mto their cooduct to British subjects, assuring them that if any violeace should be offesed,

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AFFAIRS. OF. NEW ZEALAND. '1by either party to thete, it would then .become his du~ to take satiafactiou, an d that he Sir.B.. h o a t i : . to_ou.ld do It ettectually. . . Lord Glenelg.SInce the date of my last Despatch, the war canoes have been almost every day illmotion, 9 SeptemUer 183 " :but there have been only two encounters of the parties worthy of notice. In these two -_'as'airs about thirty persona were kil led. The Ngapuliell have lost a no th er c h ie f of the 61'fjt EDclosure (C.)rank, and in other respects have been the severest sufferers from the commencement of hos-tilities. The injury for which they took up arms ha a consequently been aggravated by everyattempt to obtain reparation.A fact bas also come to my knowledge, which gives a greater eolonr of truth to Pomare'soriginal accusation, than any circumstance of which I was previouslj- aware, namely, thatthe woman of whom it was alleged that sb e had been murdered and eaten on being landedfrom the ship, had fonnerly been the wife of the 'person who was charged with her murder.It was in former t im&l a very common case for a chief to p.. t to deatft any of hi s wi.ea wholiad deserted or been unfaithful to him.But whatever may have been th e real circumstances or motives which originated the lIre-sent war, there is not the least probability of its being 8peedily brought to a tenninatJoo.Pomare's party ap~r confident in the strength of their position, ana the Ngapulies areeridently ectuated t1Y..themost irritated and Yindictive feelings; and there seems no reaSODto doubt that Utey WIll speedily be joined by the powerful tribe vf Rara\ta, from the mcn~northerly parts of the island. ,Under these circumstances, although the visit of His Majesty's ship Rattlesnake atthis juncture is pec1;Iliatly important, as making it appear to th e natives that a ngilant gua~dianship is maintained over lIis Majesty's su6jects who are settled here, and that aasist-ance is never at a great distance, shoeld it be required; yet it is imposeible to look to th econtinuance of this center t without the most erious alarm.TitOre, who was the most influential of th e Ngapulie chiefs in prese"ing order in the townKororakia, where tl!e natives and British are mingled in the greatest numbers, died a fewdays ago; and in several instances already 1 have heard that the Ioss of hi s influence 11Mbeen felt to the detriment of the British inhabitants. Whatever influence the other chiefspossese, will also be wl"akened wiltontheir provisions become exhausted; and as little or nocultivation wil l be attempted while things remain ill' their present position, it may naturallybe expected that the natives will become reckless in proportion to their want of the mean.o( Bub itence.Under these c i rcumstaneee, his ~eHency will be prepared to r my entire eonCUrTeDOOnhis opinion that any additional expenditure, with the view of giving increased efficiency tomy office as at present constituted, would be altogether fruitless; nor would the Act ofParliament to which his Excellency refers, if the powers it was intended to impart shouldfie liiD1~ to the controKing of British subjects, be of much Rrvice, in tlte Mate to' WbtChthe affairs of this country have arrived. What is wanted is a para.mouot authority, 8Up-ported by a force adeq.uate to secure the e8icienoy of its measures.Without the estabhshment of such an authority by some civilized state, I cannot, after afull consideration of every circumstance connected with the actual condition of this people,see the least prospect of any permanent peace being established amongst them whilst thereremains a stronge. mall to murder his weaker neighbour. There are few per80116 80 insig-nificant as not to have it in their power, at an y time, to plunge the country into w a r . Thecrime o f an individual involves his most distaDt connexions, as each of them is a legitimateobject of retaliation to the connexions of the injured party. It is invain to represent to themthat the criminal alone should Buffer; their answer is ready, and it is perfectly consistentwith the dictates of natural justice, namely. that his tribe wil l not surrender him to sufferfor his crime, and by standing up in his defence they have become participators in it; while,on the other hand, provided the criminal be not a slave, his connexions are never without a .gritmmoe, more or less ancient, which they bring forward as a justifiCation of bis crime;Thus, by every attempt to administer the law of retaliation-the rude justice of nature-thebreach is made wider. New deaths involve more distant connexicns. Tribe after tribebecomes a party to tbe contest ; and peace, or rather an intermission of murders, can onlybe procured wben one of the partie becomes to o weak to continue the contest, or when the101800 both sides happens to be 80 nearly balanced, that lleitber party baa an ad'laotageover the other.In this way has the depopulation of the country been going on,. til l diatrict after districtha s become void of its inhabitants, and the population is, even now, but a remnant of wlaatit .,,88 ift the memory of some European residente.Itw()uld, in relation to the subjeee on which I intend to enter in this Despatch, be aninteresting and important question, did there exist means of bringing it to a satisfactorvsolution, How far this depopulation of the country, whicb has at least been rapid in pro-port ion to the increase of its intercourse with the wbite8, was originated by the latter, andmey justly be chargeable to them. My own opinion is, that all the apparent causes whickare in openrtion are quite inadequate to ac.coont for the rapid disappearance of the people.'Ihe iDtrodoetiou of fim-arms is alleged IUone cause, tNt there seems good reuoo todoubt whether their wars were less sanguinary before f ire-arms were introduced. The lIMof iatoxicating liiuors and t obseco are less questiooable evils j and though their directinfluence cannot, think, be stated as at all remarkable, they are,- in all probability, theoriginal cauees of diseases with which their immediate cormexion is not apparent.Venereal diseases' are another means of undermining the constitution of the multitudeswho, in ODe shape or other.rare subjected to them: a n a besides tbese SOurcetl of dieease anddeath, the abuee of' ~ f t :Rlaic . . .. . ho are sent by lb eir ~ ; or ~etioD6 on board _ips,.' 122. A 4 and


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S ir R .. Bo.r toLonlGIMC.S . Septembu 1837.EAdo~Qfe (C.)

8 PAPDS )lELA 'PIVE TO THE

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AFFAIRS OF NEW Zlal..AND ... 1hoWd~ f t o o m or he ~ to hT t b e ir O W ' D ~ ; tod ...... -'er Sit R. B o t n i : e ' t otale ooetnJl and direcrtiona of ita offiCll"l; and that th e ~enuea of te e 'COUntry shoald. be Lord Gtenelgaade ~bae, in the tint inlltaace, to the IIIIppori efa mil ~t, to be eetabli.ebed 9 Septem~ ;8'3'1'.by the protecting power, and the maiDtena:nce of the quota of troop. etipulated for by the _tftJaty. Bncbure ~C.)In theory and ostensibility the go...ernment would be that of th e cooMderated c lUe&, butm reality itmoo ~ be that of the protectiDg power. The dUe& would meet annually01' oftener, and nominally enact the laws p T O p O M d to them; but in truth the pre.ent rue ofchiem could not be intrulted ,with any discretion whate.er ill the adoptioG or rejeotioo ofany meaaure that ~t be submitted to them, moral principle, ifit elLiat amottgat tlIem at all,being too week towlthltand the temptation of the Alil tbUlt penonal conaideration. Thocongre. would, in fact, be a school inwhich th e c h i e r . would be inatncted in the d.tiarequired of them, and the authority confided to them 88 CODMnators of th e peace in their.eparate districta, towhich they would al8lOcarry tho knowledge of Ule laws enaeted during.8iUinga.As conaerntors of the peace, a small salary would be giYeD to them; and this, ~erwith the distinction eoofeired by the employment, would secure beyond all doubt the en~deTOtiOR of th e chiefs to th e WlBhee of the resident. A medal containing the nama of eadlehlef, and of the district over which hil authority extended, wov)d be another highly .. teemeddistinction., To complete the means of establishing an eatire control oyer the population, it would beOIIly neceeeary to establish a school in each considerable village, with a schoolmaster paidin proportion to the Dumber of individuals be should have under his tuition during the year.8ehoolmasten already exist inmany villages, and could, without difficulty, soon be procuredfor the whole bl the aid of the miMionariea. An annual examiDatioD of these schools, and disVibution 0 priles of trivial value, would bring the whole population under the superri-Ron of the goYernmellt; while a periodical newspaper might, at the l8Dle time that it COD-T8~ the DeWS of the day, be made the means of iostructing the natives in thoee relativedutle' of th e people and thm rwen which are familiar to all ranb of the population undereetablisbed goyern.ment., but of whieh the New Zealanders bave acarc.eJy uyet coDCeiedaa 'id~a., 80 simple and primitiYe are th e arrangements wlUc.h, with entire confidence in their efti ..oi6l'l0y, IWCluld propose for the governmeut of the oatiye population; nor could the e:spense01 these arrangemenu, for sueral yean at laut, exceed 10001. a year. allutting a more coo-eideraWe Alary to certain leading chiefs, to be elected by the congrel8, with th e IUlCtioao f the resident, for the purpl>8e of acting with him as a native council and e.xecuiue alItJ.o..rity, and providing allO for the acceuion of more distant tribes, who would hasteD to join th e.eonfederation when ita objects should become understood, and whose adherence it is indeed,under my circuma4:aDcea, highly ueceasary to procure, as a bar to the interfereace of "1(OI'eign power. .The in6ueDce of the govemment amongst th e tribes south of the preaent confederation~Id of course be Dlore limited than nearer to the seat of government. But there abo theintercourse of British ~bjecta, and the evils for which they are responsible, are lese felt. Asthe8& eneo.ded, the occaaion and the means would arise for making the government efliC1entthroughout the island. But, even from the first, the existence of a powerwbich would, ct.imthe right of deciding disputes and maiDtaining peace, woold be most beneficially felt.Although it would be absolutely nsceaaary that the chiefs of the confederatioo 1h000d rs-e m . e such a salary as, togetber Wlth the distinction coaferred by their beiog members of cen-gpe8s aad COll.8enatora of th e peace, would enaure their support of the meaaol'88 of the ,..aident, yet I do not conceive that there would be the slightest daager o f any law which shouldbe submitted to the chiefs being uopalatable to them: 10 little oomplicated are their I O C Wrelations, that the molt simple and obviou8 principles of natural justice and equity requireenJy to be stated and explained, in order to form a code which would meet every caae that. islikely for many years to occur, That difficulties would for a time ariae in the adminietn.-Uoo of the laws, there can be little doubt. It is scarcely to be espeeeed that the ehlef of abibe would be tbe instrument of apprehending a crimioal immediately C O I U M C t e d with hrl-eelf) but, on the other hand, be wauJa Dever think of affontiDg him protectioa against a Dil.tWepolice which could fall back upon the British troops for npport. In IIUlny eases the 'NIl-getmCe of the laws might not orertake the guilty party, but the act of a lingle crimiAal would. at once and far eyer ceese to be th e occalion of cisil war." To tboseunacquainted with th e actual ,tatwofa New Zealand chief,it~perhap .. pp!eUimprobable that be would giye up his own propel' rank and authority, udbecome what wouldW'OUldbe, in fact, little better than an inatrwneBt in th e hand. of th e British resideat. But,in truth, tbe New Zealand chief has neither rank. nor authority bot what every ~ .. aboyethe condition of a siaYe, and iadeed the moet of them, _y clnpiae or resist WIth impunity.It would, in this respect, be to the ebiefa ratller aa aequititlon than a IUfrendfto of power.But the conduct of the chiefs in their iDdiviG.al capacity would of COWIe be replat.ed Dythe laws- enuted by themselYes u a eollecti'fe body, and proriaioe might be 'made- bwais1a-jng by a pecuniary mulct, by a temporary suspension from office 88 a conservator of tire~, or by a ~ation from th e rank. of a chief of c o o s r e s s of any c hief w lao sbollld failInhe duties req,ulred of him. Thil could in almost all caees be dOM withoot riRiBg thedisaffection of. hl8 tribe, wbo would without any difficulty be induced to y'ropoee aooUier oftheir leading men to be elected by th e coagreu, and auctioned by th e I'8Iideat in his stead., It wouJd of coarse rest with the wiadom of th e Britilb 001'l8mmeDt to deterlMne what, ~'1IhouJd be w e . .. . de a fo e , th e ~ ,af Hi.M"y'8 "jecW; bwt..all cidI.-

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Sir It.Boetb toLord GleeelW,9 S lpWmber 1S'7. EacJo.re (C.)

10 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THEe o 1 t i e A in the way of such an arrangement, are, I conceive, removed by the existenceandrecognition of a New Zealand government. Whatever laws His Majesty'8 Governmentshould consider Imitable for the protection and control of the King's subjects would be pro-~ to, and, as of course, become acts of the legislature of New Zealand .Whatever courts of judicature Ilia Majesty might deem necessary would be establishedunder the same sanction.Whether the British settlements in this country have as y~t attained sufficient importanceto require the establishment of a supreme court of civil and criminal jurisdiction may bedoubted; but when the necessity of providing for the administration of Justice amongst thenatives, consequent upon the establishment of a government, and the enactment of Taws, isconsidered, the question 8.881lDletl a different aspect. The country itself, possessing no mate-rial. for such institutions, can look alone to the protecting power to afford this as well as theother means ofmuing its government effective.Amongst the missionaries and catechists of Church and the Wesleyan missionarySocieties there is a number of {>6f80nsqualified to act in this country as justice. of thepeace, and there could, at least m the case of those who are laF.en. exist no object ion totheir acting in that capacity on the part of the societies to which they belong. There areeven now also two or tliree of the settlers who are competent to the same office. The mi .. ionaries would prove an invaluable and almost indispensable adjunct to the judge of criminal court, by acting as assessors in all cases inwhich natives should be concerned. T hetrials might also be conducted in the presence of a jury of natives, not constituted in anyrespect as judges in the case, but rather as compurgators with the accused, and as witneseeato the country of his having had a fair trial, conformably with what would appear fromSir F. Pal grave's researches to have been the original constitution ofjuries in England.

Thus would the way be prepared for confiding to tbe people the tru&t of jurymen, in likemanner as to the chiefs of congress that of Iegislators, when a generation should arise suf-ficiently enlightened and virtuous to be capable of those high functions,From amongst the missionaries and the settlers might be selected a council to advise theresident, consisting of two or three of the former, who might be nominated after commu-nicating with their constituents at home, and two of the latter who would more immediate1yrepresent the interests and wishes of the settlers generally. By giving to the persons thuschosen the right, under such limitations as might be considered proper, ofb~ing underthe consideration of the resident and such council any questions which they might deemof public importance, and of having their opinions, when they differed from those of theresident, recorded in its proceedings, and transmitted to His Majesty's Government, theresident would be able to avail himself of_all ~e aid which the information and experienceof the whole body of missionaries, and of settlers generally, could afford.Unless a defined and specific share in the governmcnt of the country be allotted to themissionaries, the British Government has no right to expect that that influential body willgive a hearty support to its representative. In points on which their own opinion is differentfrom his, and these will coostantly arise, they will persuade themselves that it is their dutyto aecede from him; and should they, in the character which they have assumed to them-selves of guardians to the natives, conceive it to be their duty to use their influence in oppo-sition to his measures, they will occasion him no little embarrassment, even when vestedwith the full powers of a government.His Excellency is in part aware that I have already had some difficulties of this nature tocontend with. But after the missionaries had joined the settlers in attemptil'lg to forceupon me the adoption of a measure which, when subsequently ordered by His Excellency,they requested might not be adopted, because the short experience of the interval hadclearly demonstrated the correctness of my opinion and the erroneousness of their own,I thought they would naturally conclude in future that it was possible for the conclusionsof a single mind, when directed to one object, to be more correct than the collective opinionsof many persons whose minds are altogether engrossed with the multitude of details whichfill up the attention of men, occupied as they are, leaving neither leisure nor capacity formore enlarged and comprehensive views. I conceived that I had gained at least this point,that they would respect my opinions even when they might not feel disposed to secondmy measures. 1 am grieved to say that in this 1 have been disappointed, for no other reasonthat 1 can divine, than that 1 preferred my own opinion to theirs upon a point of dutywhich they took upon them to dictate to me; they have latterly kept aloof from any com-munication with me; and by their conduct in a recent instance they have put it out of mypower, while our present relations continue, to make any further application or reference tothem on matters connected with the King's service in this country. I had requested thata meeting of them and their Wesleyan brethren might take place at my house, in order toconault whether it might not be prudent for them to induce the chiefs to take the oppor-tunity afforded by the delivery of the King' s mess~e to petition His Majesty for assistancein reducing their country to order, and establishing in it an efficient. government. TheWesleyana sent a suitable apology; but the missionaries of the Church Missionary Society,wi~ one exception, absented themselves without one word of previous or subsequent expla-nation.Having been specially accredited to the missionaries of the Chnrch Missionary Society,and directed to consult with them, it became my duty to make this explanation, and 1 haveintroduced it in connexion with the subject of this Despatch, because It is to o important tobe lightly considered in any future arrangements for the government of this country.It is Impossible that men could be found whose opinions and sentiments in generalare more in accordance than those of the miaaionariea and my own; nor could any p e J ' S O l ladop t


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1 : - 1 :adopt towards them a more conciliatory 'li~ of conduct than I hase .inyariably doee., Sir .Jl~~"e., ,But I have been placed with respect to them in a false position; on their' .side was the. Lo~dGltladt; -., ..accumulated experience and influence of numbers acting in COOCE'.rt during many years 9 SfptelW?er ;SS. 'hof devotion to the secular as well as the spiritual interests of the natives, and with the '-' ,command of whatever funds they might judge necessary to render their labours effic ient. ' f.IlOI~~ (C dIn all respects, except the advantage of having acted in public business of some import-,aace before my arrival in this country, my own situation was a painful contrast to theirs.In such circumstances it need not excite much surprise that they should prefer their own:own opinions to mine, and, on their being discordant; that they should pursue their own viewsof duty, and leave me to mine. But I am not more surrrised than distressed at the incou-'sistency of their recent conduct, believing them, as I stil do, to be faithful and sincere men,and zealous in the pursuit of their sacred duties. . :With regard to the number of troops which it might be necessary to maintain, it would,Ihink, require little knowled~e of military .tactics to satisfy anyone who has witnessed allytiling ohhe warfare of the natives, that one hundred English soldiers would be an overmatch,for the united forces of the whole islands, But in fact there is little risk of even two tribesu~iting to oppose them .. There is no dominion any where existing to .rival that which wouldcallthe British government to its aid; nor is any chief possessed, as such, of auy sovereign orterritorialdghts, in Im'pport of which he might induce others to join him in resisting the esta-blished power. The rlght!\ of property being once recognised, and measures taken to ascer-tain and fix those rights, I cannot conceive any object for which the smullest number ofmen could be induced to unite in resistin~ the government, unless in the a dm in i tru tio n ofjustice ; and so great and manifest a blessmg would, even under the least perfect system ofgovernment and judicature, prove to the distracted inhabitants of this country that the 1Q0stlI)f\l.&eQtialmen amongst them would succeed. in inducing few indeed to resist its exercise.But 'there is no reason why a body of the English settlers might not be enrolled and trainedas a militia to act with the regular troops in any emergency; nor could any objection exist tothe. training of a native force, although it appetLrs to ole that the natives are too independentin their circumstances to submit to.military. discipline for military pay. . ,:'Simul4neously with the establishment of a government, it would be absolutely necessarythat means should be resorted to for ascertaining and fixing upon equitable principl~,'the titles of British subjecta to land which they claim to}lave purchased from the.natives. This is a subject of so muc h importance, and which involves so deeply thecharacter of the British Government, that I humbly submit it might be proper for His~ajesty to issue a special commission for this purpose to persons not connected or likely.1 Q be connected witli this country . After the present claims should be .disposed of, it would be necessary to declare allpurchases void, of which sufficient notice had not been given to the Government, in orderthat. the real proprietors of the land might be ascertained, Humanity would also requirethat' certain districts should he fixed in perpetuity in the native proprietors, and that itshould be enacted that all claims to the possession of such lands by foreigners, howsoeveracquired, should be absolutely null and void. .' .Ihave in previous communications indicated in part the sources from which a revenuemight be raised to meet the expel)se of the arrangements above proposed. 1shall not addto this already too extended Despatch by entering into any particulars. upon this head ..I ~al1 s imp ly state that the number of ships which visited' the Bay of Islands alone duringthe year 1836 amounted to 151, and the number during the six months oftbe present ye~r,not yet concluded to 72, and most of them were of a large class .. A simple tonnage duty on these vessels would go II. great way towards meeting the civilexpenditure of a government such as I have proposed. But there is also aver'! eztensi etrade in spirits and tobacco, from which a revenue might be raised, not ooly without diffi-'culty, but most beneficially fo r public morality and good order. ln short, the trade of l\( ;w:,Zealand is sufficiently extensive even now to afford ample means for the support of an efii._.cient ~overnment, and the country posse ses resources to meet whatever increase of expen-,diture Its circumstancas may require. It would only, perhaps, be necessary for the BritishGovernment to issue 0. small loan, chiefly for several necessary public buildings and . imme-diate expenses in advance of the revenues of the New Zealand government, to be repaid by .instalments when these revenues should be realized. .The above are principally the views which, in applying to His Excellency Sir RichardBourke for leave to proceed to England, it was my object to bring under the immediatenotice of the Home Government. r 'trust it will require no apology for having advancedthem now, his Excellency in his' Iast Despatch having recognised the necessity for somefurther measures with regard to this country. Although he has only instructed ole to suggestsuch as should fall within the limits defined by His Majesty's Government, I have madean attempt to point out by what means the extension of efficient protection to His Majesty'~.subjects might be made, compatible with such a regard to the rights of the New Zealand-ers, as an independent state, as might satisl)< the reasonable. scruples of foreign g;)vern-mcnts, and thus remove the difficulties which I have humbly presumed might influencethe Secretary of State in defining those limits.Itmight well be considered presum{llion in me, even if qualified for such a task, shouldIenter Into the question how far the Just and legitimate possession of lands in a foreigncountry ..entitles the possessors of those lands to require from the actual sovereigns of thecountry the ordinary protection of a government, and, if this is from incapacity or othercauses withheld, to obtain the aid of the parent state in governing themselves. I f I am'rightly informed, the whole coast line, from Cape Uult, including the Doble harbour of the:

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Sir R. Bourke toLord Glenelg,9 September 183iEnclcsure (C.)

Enclosure (0.

12 PAPERS RELATIVE TO NEW ZEALAND.Bay of Islands, and extending aa far as Wangaroa, forty miles to the northward of the bay,has, with trivial exceptions, passed from the possession of the natives into that of Britishsubjects. Nor has the consideration given been in all cases so disproportioned to the value oflands in an unsettled country, or even to the returns which the capital thus invested is C 8 F L -ble of yielding, as to stamp such transaction. universally with the character of injustlce.Mo t of the valuable forests in the interior have changed their ownership; and on the west-ern coast an extensive territory is also claimed by British subjects.Wben His Majesty's Government become aware of these facts, it.is possible they m ayconsider that the course of events has 80 altered the relation of this country to the rest of.the world, as to demand the application. of a different principle than that whic6, in an abstractview of its previous condition, may have been considered expedient and just; and that HisMajesty may be advised to grant a charter of government to the colony of British subjectswho are established in it, leaving the natives in the ful l possession of their abstract rights,80 (ar as they have not conceded them to the colonists, and- providing only against theirsuffering injustice at the hands of the latter.There can be no doubt that the establishment of any authority whatever would be anincalculable advantage. But I cannot here avoid submitting, with all humility, a suggestionwhich has occurred to me, with no common force, in the course of my obse.rn.tions on thestate of this country; namely, that it seems not more consistent with the arrangements ofDivine Providence that an infant people which, by its intercourse with a powerful state, issubject to all the injury and injustice which weaknesa and ignorance must suffer by beingthrown into a competition of interests with knowledge and power, should as naturally fallunder and be not Iess entitled to the protection of the powerful state than the weaknessof infancy and childhood is entitled to the protection of those who were the instruments ofbringing it into an existence which requires such protection. Imay go further, and submitthat this would seem the instinct of natural justice, as exemplified by the reference whichthe chiefs made to the King of England in their declaration of independence. They prayed" that His Majesty would continue to be their parent, and that he would become theirprotector." The sentiment and the language were their own.Ihave, & c c .

(signed) Jama BUlbv,British Resident at New Zealand.

Enclosure (D.)LE'ITER from Jamu &uby, Esq., British Resident New Zealand, to the Honourable theColonial Secretary of New South Wales.(No. 117) British Residency, Bay of ' Islands,Sir, 13 July 1837.IHATB the satisfaction to acquaint you, for the information of His Excellency Sir RichardBourke, that peace has been concluded amo~t the greater part of the parties who were e~-gaged in the late war; and there seems, I think, no reason to doubt that those who are stillfnclined to continue it, wil l have to yield to the general voice.With the exception of the few wh? still hold out, the C?n~e.xionsof ~o~ who were ki.lled.in the various encounters o~~e parties have foregone their right of retaliation, ~d t~e tribeswith whom the war first originated remain for the present 10 the situation 10 which theywere when hostilities commenced. But should the woman whose alleged murder was theostensible cause of the war prove, on the return of the ship from which sbe was said to havebeen landed, to be still alive, in that case a portion of land belonging to Po mares' tribe is tobe transferred to the other party, as a satisfaction for the .woman murdered by Pomares'peop le .Itappears also from recent accounts from the southward, that peace had been made bythe tribes of the Bay or Plenty. Ihave, & c e .

(signed) Jamu Bruby,British Resident New Zealand.


9/9

NEW Z E A LAN D.

COpy of a DESPATCH from Governor Sir R.Bourke, X.C.B., to Lord Gl n elg , dated S!ldteey,9 September 1837, relative to the Affairs ofN ttM Zealand ;-with four Enclosuree.

I 'M'" Fe6nuJ f -Y 1828.

Documents

Declaration of Independence - Proof of Ill Intent