No great progress was made, and that while the [ proved, that considerable changes for the colonists received no assistance whatever better had taken place, and were still in from the Government-on the contrary, while they were compelled to pay large sums of money to maintain the Government from which they derived no assistance whatever, and of which the seat was established at a great distance from their settlements; still, until the officers of the Government banefully interfered to thwart and impede their operations, for several months affairs went on very satisfactorily at Cook's Strait. He found that this was the statement even of the officers of the Government themselves. It was said that the settlers and the natives were then on the best possible terms with each other, and that everything there wore a prosperous and a thriving appearance, until, by the unhappy policy pursued, the difficulties thrown by them in the way of the occupation of land had given rise to the confusion which had since ensued. He thought that no man could attentively read the Papers in which such statements were made, without seeing that the whole spirit in which the officers of the Government acted was that of vexatiously interfering with and thwarting the settlers on Cook's Strait, although, in spite of these efforts, it was not until two years after the settlement had been founded that the difficulties became really serious. This was his impression from reading the correspondence; but if he were mistaken in that impression, and admitting it to be otherwise, what were they to say as to the northern parts of the island? The hon. Gentleman the Under Secretary of State had not answered the argument of his hon. and learned Friend near him-if all that had happened was owing to the misconduct of the Company, how happened it that affairs were worse in the northern than in the southern parts of the island? In the northern parts of the island the Company had not interfered. There the Government had it all their own way. Whatever was wrong there, the Government was responsible for it, and it must be solely attributed to their mismanagement. The northern parts of the island, it had been truly stated by his hon. and learned Friend, had been irregularly colonized for a considerable number of years. In the early portion of that time great outrages and horrible crimes had been committed, and there had been fearful scenes of anarchy and confusion; but still all the information they had received proved that matters had considerably im progress, up to the year 1840; that mis- for the due security of property-from that very moment, instead of things improving, they became far worse than they had been before, and the evils of anarchy were greater than at any former period. He asked them how they accounted for this? It was impossible for them to account for it otherwise than by admitting that there must have been some great error in their policy. The Government of the country must, he said, have been ill conducted, or such serious evils could not have followed. If there had been a wise policy-if there had been a vigorous policy it was not possible but that good must have followed, and not evil, from the introduction of British laws. Looking to the results of the policy which had been adopted, and to the undeniable facts he had mentioned, it seemed therefore clear that there must have been some great fault in their policy, and there would, he thought, be no difficulty in tracing that fault to its source, nor in showing how had been produced that state of things which now existed. The fault of their policy was that adverted to in the Report of last Session; it was that an entirely erroneous system had been adopted in determining the ownership of land and in granting titles to it, and also that there had been a total want of proper firmness in making their authority obeyed and respected by the native tribes. As to the evils which had arisen from the unsettled state of the land-claims, he was saved from the necessity of offering any proof by the admissions that had been made by the Under Secretary of State, by Captain Fitzroy, by Lord Stanley, and by every Gentleman who had spoken on the subject. He believed it to be a fact disputed by none, that the uncertainty which had existed so long with reference to the claims to land had been the main source of all the difficulties which had been experienced. The question then arose, how had it happened that the land-claims had been allowed to continue so long unsettled? The Committee of last year came to the conclusion that this had been occasioned by the mistaken policy adopted by the local authorities, and supported by the present Secretary of State, and the erroneous construction put upon the Treaty of Waitangi. On the other hand, the hon. Gentleman (Mr. Hope) had gone at great length into an argument, of which the object was to disprove this conclusion, and to show that the Report of the Committee of last year did not put the true construction upon the Treaty of Waitangi-that, on the contrary, the Treaty had been correctly understood by Lord Stanley; if time permitted him, he would have no difficulty in meeting that argument. He firmly believed that the correct construction had been put upon the Treaty by his noble Friend the Member for London, in the Charter of the Colony bearing the great seal, and his instructions to the Governor under the Sign Manual. He admitted, indeed, that there were expressions used by Lord Normanby that were not altogether consistent with this interpretation-he admitted that some expressions could be quoted from Lord Normanby's despatches which it could not fairly be denied gave considerable support to the argument urged by the hon. Gentleman on this point. Notwithstanding this, however, he still felt no doubt that the interpretation put upon the Treaty by the Committee might be shown to be the true one; but he would not detain the House by then attempting to support this conclusion, because it seemed to him altogether unnecessary to do so, since, even admitting the hon. Gentleman's construction of the Treaty to be the right oneadmitting it to be so, for the sake of argument-still he said that this did not in the slightest degree meet the allegation that the difficulties which had arisen with respect to the titles to land were the natural result of the impolitic measures that had been adopted. He contended that, from their own account of these transactions, from what appeared on the face of these Papers, it was plain that Her Majesty's Government, and the authorities under them, had acted most injudiciously with reference to the land. His complaint was, that neither those entrusted with authority in the island, nor Her Majesty's Government at home, had, since the period that the noble Lord the Member for London had quitted office, understood the paramount importance of maintaining for the Crown the complete administration of the waste lands. If they had been aware of that; if they had felt the extreme importance of maintaining the power of the Crown over all unoccupied and unused land, he said, that understanding the terms of the Treaty as they understood it, there could have been no difficulty in obtaining that complete control. Adopting their own interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi, it was admitted that it gave to the Crown an unlimited right of pre-emption in respect to all land held by the natives of New Zea land; and maintaining this right, and al-sured its being distributed to those who lowing no sale of lands but to the Crown, meant to use it, since none others would would have been quite sufficient to have pay for it a considerable price), and then attained the object in view, that of estab- employ the price given in emigration to lishing the right of the Crown to all waste the country, and on public works; thus lands. Had the vital importance of this returning to those who bought the land, been understood, by simply maintaining the money in the best manner and the the right of pre-emption, for a very small most useful to them. Every shilling which, consideration the Government might have instead of being thus employed, was wasted practically obtained from the natives a by giving it to the natives for what to control over all lands not used by them; them was of no value, was a shilling withand that course, he said, would have been drawn from objects that might be benefireally advantageous to the natives, ad- cial to the native and the settler. It was vantageous to the settlers, and advan- then in order that the waste land might tageous to all parties concerned. His be thus made use of, that it was so desira hon. and learned Friend had very clearly ble that the title of the Crown to all such shown, on the previous day, that with land should be established; and he conrespect to such unused land, the real tended that, even granting it to have been interest of the natives was not that they right to put the hon. Gentleman's (Mr. should be permitted themselves to sell the Hope's) construction upon the Treaty, the land, for money or goods, which they were local authorities, if they understood the sure improvidently to waste, but to have it importance of this principle, would have sold by the constituted authorities in such obtained from the native tribes their acquia manner as to ensure its regular occupa-escence in the plan of the land being distion, and to have the price obtained for it so applied as to encourage the investment of capital and settlement. Captain Fitzroy himself, in common with every other person, had admitted that a large portion of the land was utterly valueless until a value was given to it by European settlement: no claim, on the score of justice, to be largely paid for permission to occupy it, could therefore be set up on behalf of the natives; and his hou. Friend had also shown that to compel the settlers to give a large price for the land to the natives was, for their welfare, a most imprudent course. This, indeed, was distinctly admitted even by the Protector, Mr. Clark, who had taken so active a part in maintaining what he considered the rights of the natives, as in one of his Reports he pointed out that the sudden affluence to which they had been raised had been injurious to their moral improvement. The hon. and gallant Officer opposite said that what was most wanted was, opening roads and building bridges throughout the country: this was most true; but if the Government threw away the money obtained for land (which ought to afford the means of meeting these wants of an infant settlement) by giving large sums to the natives, they must come upon the settlers for contributions to open those communications throughout the country which had been suggested. The principle of the New Zealand Company was the proper one: it was to sell the land (by which they en posed of to the Crown; above all they would, as they were clearly entitled to do, have put a stop to all dealings between the natives and private settlers for land, which, of all practices, was the most injurious that could have been allowed to go on. When the news went out that his noble Friend had concluded a bargain with the Company, it was the duty of the officers not to have found fault with the alleged sales of land by the natives to the Company, not with an inquisitorial and pettifogging jealousy to seek out for flaws in the title by which lands were held by them. It was their duty, on the contrary, if they found the supposed purchases by the Company disputed by the natives, to adopt the most effectual and speedy means in their power to cure this defect in the Company's title, and with that view should have endeavoured, on the part of the Crown, and at the least possible cost, to purchase the lands from the natives, and then dispose of them to the Company. If that had been done, no one could doubt that none of the evils that had since happened could have occurred. If the natives had known that they could sell to nobody else but the Crown, there could have been no doubt of the Crown being able easily to gain possession. If this policy had been followed from the beginning, there would have been no difficulty in obtaining the acquiescence of the natives, and in satisfying even them that it was the course most for their benefit. Instead of this, the local authorities proceeded to investigate the titles of the, vilized countries, to decide as to the title to Company to the lands in the most hostile lands held under these barbarous native spirit. The course actually adopted was to customs. Could it be said that Englishassume that the natives had a complete men, who had gone out to colonize a counknowledge of the nature of landed pro- try like New Zealand, and to cultivate perty, and that it was the duty of the Pro- land lying in a state of nature and utterly tectors on their behalf to extort the highest useless, should be prevented from doing so, possible price for unoccupied land. This in deference to the title of its present poswas the principle adopted in the proceed- sessors, which depended upon such customs ings of the Court of Claims-every claim as these? Millions of acres of land which to land was thus investigated-the bond might, if these difficulties of title were refide nature of the sale was required to be moved, be brought into cultivation and established, whether a proper price had made productive, were now lying waste. been paid for the land, and whether the The interest of all parties, natives as well native title to the land had been a good as settlers, was that the land should be one; these were things to be judged of by divided and brought into use as soon as a gentleman going out from this country, possible; but the effect of the course which who was altogether unacquainted with the had been pursued by the Government was native language and native customs, and to declare that nobody should use it, but who had but imperfect means of communi- that it should be shut up and excluded cating with the parties. It had been justly from all human use and human enjoyremarked by his hon. and learned Friend, ment, until all these complicated and conthat it was in the nature of uncivilized flicting claims of title-claims arising out men to show very little respect for truth, of such transactions as he had alluded to, and that having the hope of immediate were decided. It would be as reasonable gain, they were not likely to be scrupulous to bring one of these New Zealand chiefs, in their assertions; that having consumed and dress him up in a wig and gown, and the articles which had been given for the place him in the Court of Chancery here, land, when encouraged to hope that they to decide questions of title according to the might again get paid for it, they would laws and customs of this country, as to naturally be ready to deny past transac leave it to a Court of Claims composed of Englishmen to decide upon claims arising out of these barbarous New Zealand customs. If it had not led to such serious results, he would have said that a more ludicrous farce had never been enacted. And when it was known that such mischievous follies had been committed in the Colony, what was the course taken by the Government administering the affairs of this country, to protect those of its subjects who had been induced to embark in the colonization of New Zealand? When the despatch from the Governor, acquainting them with these proceedings, came to their hands, instead of putting an end to the difficulty at once in a single despatch which could not be misunderstood, they went into all manner of questions as to the construction and meaning of the Treaty of Waitangi, and the terms of the contract between the New Zealand Company and the Government. The complicated nature of the New Zealand Company's claims, if the mode of proceeding which had been commenced was to be continued, ought to have been understood, and some means ought to have been taken by the Government to get over the difficulty. He would show that, from the moment of Governor But the Court, in determining on claims to land, had not only to decide on the validity of the alleged sales, but also on the right of the natives themselves to the land which they had sold. Conceive the difficulty of such an inquiry. It was doubted whether the natives understood at all, until they acquired the notion from the settlers, what was meant by having a right of property, according to our ideas, in unoccupied land; if they had such an idea at all, it was of a right depending on their own barbarous customs. He remembered what had happened in Committee on this subject, though, being incidentally mentioned, it did not appear on the face of their proceedings. A witness was brought forward by the Under Secretary of State to show that the natives had very correct notions on the subject of property in land. This witness said, in reply to a question from the hon. Member for Pontefract (Mr. Milnes), that one chieftain maintained that he had the best title to a particular district because he had eaten the former owner. Let it be understood by the House that they had sent out a gentleman full of notions of the law of real property as it existed in this and other ci Hobson's arrival, the subject was brought | and the land so assigned had been asunder the consideration of the Govern- signed, not on account of the payments ment, and the importance of a speedy set- made, but on account of the expenses intlement of the land-claims pointed out. curred upon it. Now if the original sales Governor Hobson, in a despatch to the were good at all, if they were to be conColonial Office, dated 20th February, sidered as valid transactions, they must 1840, observed upon the evils of the land give, not a partial claim, but a claim to jobbing, the mania for which, he says, had the whole of what was supposed to have taken possession of both Europeans and been bought. The Government did not natives; and added that the policy of regard the supposed purchases, whether stopping that mania must be obvious to all by the New Zealand Company or by indiwho had any notion of the principles of viduals, in this light: they were procolonization. Again, Captain Hobson nounced altogether null and void; but to meet the equitable claims of those who had commenced the settlement and occupation of the land, it was provided that, not by virtue of any right or claim, but on considerations of policy, a certain quantity of land, in proportion to the expenditure incurred, was not to be adjudged, but to be granted by the Crown to the parties by whom that expenditure had been incurred. This, it is clear from the Papers, was the original intention of the Government, particularly of my noble Friend the Member for London, while he held the office of says "I fear conflicting claims will be brought under the consideration of the Commissioners, the effect of which will be to create a violent ferment. Many large tracts of land were sold some years ago, at a price which bears no proportion to the present value; and this fact exasperates the natives, who imagine they were overreached by the purchasers. And another germ of discord is the conflicting claims of the natives, claims suggested, in many instances, by interested Europeans.' The first thing that ought to have been done was, as directed by Lord Normanby and the noble Lord the late Colonial Se-Secretary of State; and the fatal error cretary, Lord John Russell, to put an end to all claims of a title to land in virtue of sales by natives; but notwithstanding those that was committed was, that this intention was not carried into effect, but these claims were submitted to the adjudication of a Commissioner who endeavoured to decide upon them according to the inappli cable principles of English law, and not according to natural equity and the pecu liar circumstances of an uncivilized country. The Papers before the House showed what had been the working of this mode of proceeding. In one case, the Governor wrote to say that he hoped to prevail on a certain chief (Te WheroWhero) to accept a composition of 250l. instructions, claims to land founded on such sales were allowed to be received. It was said it could not have been intended to reject such claims, for the New Zealand Company held lands the title to which rested on purchases from the natives; but the answer was, the New Zealand Company most unwillingly rested their title on these sales, only when the British Government refused to maintain its authority in the Islands—when it regarded the chiefs for the claim he made for land admitted as civilized people, understanding civilized rights, possessing them, and able to exerto have been fairly bought by Colonel cise them; then it was, and then only, but for which this new claim was afterWakefield from the occupants at the time, that the New Zealand Company felt them-wards made. This claim the Government selves obliged to avail themselves of the only authority that was admitted. Then it was that they were willing to gain land by sales, and to sell that land again before they had intimation of those sales being recognised. But the fact was, the sales were considered null the moment the au and the Commissioner recognised, and made themselves the instruments of ob taining from the Agent of the Company, as a compromise, a further payment of 2501. And what did the House suppose was the nature of this claim? The Governor, in a subsequent despatch stated, that "The Waikato tribe, under the chief Te thority of the Government was established, and from that time the New Zealand Company rested their claim, not on their alleged purchases, but on the grant of the Whero-Whero, conquered and drove away Crown. That this was so was shown by ing only a small remnant, who found refuge the Ngati-awas from Taranaki in 1834, leavthe fact, that only a small part of the land in the mountains of Cape Egmont; and, havalleged to have been bought from the na-ing pretty well laid waste the country, and tives had been assigned to the Company; carried off a number of slaves, they retired to |