DUPLICATE

REPORTS AND SUGGESTIONS

At a place called Te Maro, I attended a Runanga, which lasted till daybreak, and which was called by one of my attendants (Aperahama, a returned chief from Taupo), on such of the residents as were charged with encroaching on a portion of his patrimony. The argument, both pro and con, was conducted with good temper and great research : the genealogy of many generations being placed under contribution for the supply of facts with which either side opposed or defended the present occupancy of the land in question. It is but a small piece, but were it only a square yard, a Maori would fight for it all the same : and an Englishman would go to law in a case equally insignificant. The battle, however, was drawn : the defendants maintaining their right to the land, on the ground of some subdivision which one of their ancestors had made in their favour, and of their subsequent occupancy; the complainant, on the other hand, disputing the truth of the statement made, and objecting to their further occupation of the piece. The others replied, that they were in possession, and would so continue until they were removed by a stronger power: that they had cleared the ground and should plough it up for wheat next week : on which Aperahama quietly declared that, in that case, he should come and sow the seed and claim the crop. He was told to act as he pleased, and the Runanga broke up.

And this is but a slight specimen of the endless controversies, personal quarrels, and bitter hatred with which near relatives frequently indulge themselves, when the mere occupancy of their common property is the point in question. What then, it might be asked, would be the general state of family feeling, if the right to alienate were included in the disposition of the estate ? To individualize Native property has always been considered desirable by the friends of the Natives, and so the subject has been discussed for the last thirty years at least, and constantly urged on Maori attention : but the more cautious and thoughtful of the Natives cannot be brought to try the experiment, looking on it as replete with difficulty and danger, and therefore impracticable by themselves. A few of the younger or more impoverished branches of the tribes might easily be brought to accept of Government assistance, in acquiring for them possessory rights which they could not otherwise obtain. But as a general rule, if extensively carried out, I think the danger to their present peaceful state (as amongst themselves) would far outweigh any real advantage which any of them would derive from the system. On a subject like this, we cannot safely argue from the European to the Maori; and the less we interfere, for some time to come, with Native lands, except by wholesale purchase, I believe, on the whole, the better.

I have noticed, where such sales have been made, and individual or family properties re-purchased or reserved, that the general satisfaction of the Natives has been great ; and if the Maori Reserves, now in common occupancy, could in the first place be subdivided, it would be a great step to that more extended individualization of property which seems so desirable. In the Taranaki and Wellington Provinces, the young men cry out most bitterly against the monopolisation and leasing of their Reserves by the more elderly chiefs, who endeavour to keep the rents to themselves. Maori Kingism, (which does not allow of leasing at all) they say, would put a stop to this ; and so, in disgust, they patronise the Native Runanga, as if that were the panacea for all existing evils.

At Matamata I did not meet with Tamehana Tarapipipi and his Runanga, as they were away at Maungatautari. I found that a Maori Boarding School was here, established and taught by Te Ropiha, and not by Tamehana, as somewhere represented. There were 20 boys and girls at that time, fed and clothed by their parents, who nevertheless provide no support for the Teacher. The food was substantial and in abundance, but the clothes were very ragged, and the bedding deficient. I therefore expended a small sum at Tauranga in supplying these wants, and making them warm for the winter. Four or five little fatherless things were described to me as having no blanket or coverlid, and obliged to crouch together in a corner all night, to obtain warmth and sleep. I afterwards spoke largely on this subject (the proper treatment of widows and orphans) to most of the Runangas, but met with very little support, for in matters of natural affection the Maori is a hard-hearted race. No one who has not resided amongst them, and become intimate with their ways, can have the least idea of the neglect, and want, and visible wretchedness, which are attached to such a condition, when occurring amongst the slaves or lower order of freemen. And yet no relief has ever been systematically afforded by the Government in such cases, nor am I aware that they have ever been made sufficiently acquainted with the fact. And as to the Runangas in general, who ought to look after these cases and provide for them, they care more for feasting themselves, and punishing others, and dividing the fines, than for supporting life and making it comfortable where no equal return can be expected. Of all the tribes of the earth, I think the Maori is the last that should profess to have any practical sympathy with the “orphan and the widow,” whose days are shortened and rendered miserable either by work or want.

At Tauranga, I found some half-dozen Runangas in very lively operation, and giving offence on all, hands. They, had established what they called a “ture kali,” or prohibitory law, whereby all Natives were forbidden to sell, their wheat for less than 6s, a bushel; and in case of disobedience, the which they were going to spend in tobacco for the use of the members; but I persuaded them to give, it up, and then returned it to its former owner. He, on the other hand, no sooner received the money, than he determined to make reprisal, by summoning the Runanga for having taken it away, nor was he at all satisfied when he found that I would not assist him in his revenge. Many other seizures had been made, and, in one case, a large quantity of wheat belonging, to a trader was taken away by force, as having been sold under the regulation price. They contended that the real benefit of the Maori Runanga was seen in the formation and working of such combinations, as well as in the adjustment of offences; but they eventually agreed to discontinue such operations until a Resident Magistrate was appointed, with whom they would consult.

In my Report from that place, I find the following remarks on the general subject which I will beg to quote:—

“Throughout my journey, hitherto, I think it would greatly surprise and please your Excellency to see the extreme desire which these people manifest, of having just laws properly administered amongst them. The imposition so frequently practised upon them by their own Runangas, is steadily working out its own effects; and wherever real justice can be had (no matter by whom supplied), to that point I believe the native mind will soon be directed, to the entire merging of all other considerations. But the great result, I apprehend, will only be effectually secured in those Districts where the people are supplied by the Government with ready means of comparison. With reference to their present practice of bringing up all offences at once to judgment, however trivial their character, on this as on some other points, their minds have actually gone mad, and it would be amusing to hear of some of the decisions given and penalties inflicted by the runanga Maori. In many cases, it is nothing but a concentrated form of robbery and persecution; and if they will only continue the system for a twelvemonth longer, and work it with energy, I hardly think there would be a proselyte left on whom to practise their imposition or folly. My general plan is, not to notice their proceedings at all, by way of censure or even correction, but simply to leave them to their working, at the same time giving my own opinion freely on all similar bona fide cases submitted to my judgment.”

And on a general review of this journey through the Bay of Plenty and Waikato districts, I had to report of the Natives thus:—

“Their desire for law is at the present time very great, and accompanied with this is their, general submission to European authority. Taking example, from those places where English Magistrates and Native Assessors have been working together for so many years, I found the the Runangas or Councils established at every important place, and acting for the general benefit, according to their several abilities.

These runangas they willingly reduced to a more manageable shape, themselves selecting the best men for that purpose, and leaving out the more inexperienced or incompetent. Thus, in the Bay of Plenty, a good working staff has been secured for carrying out the provisions of the Native Districts Regulation and Native Circuit Courts Acts, which for the present will have to be done by one set of men. I met with no final reluctance on the part of any, to adopt this system, nor with a single case in which a ready acquiescence was not accorded to the decisions given.

“The diminution of crime amongst themselves is very. observable since the establishment of these Runangas. For though in many cases they acted with strange impropriety or great injustice, yet had they not failed to impress a certain amount of fear on the people at large, which resulted in better behaviour. At the same time, a reaction was beginning to take place, owing to the want of authority in carrying out the awards of the runanga: so that my official visit by your Excellency’s appointment proved to be very timely, and much required in preserving them from a state of confusion and variance into which their own experiments would very soon have thrown them.”

At Tauranga, as in other places, I could not observe the extreme inconvenience of having two different systems—the Maori and the English—at work, at the same time; for neither party will submit to the other, and all are thrown into confusion. And as the Natives plead, on Government authority, that they can either accept our English system or reject it, as they think proper, so it is merely a matter of interest or convenience with them as to whether they submit to our jurisdiction or not. In such a state of affairs, the total inefficiency of any system whatever is fully manifest. It seems desirable either that our own plans (whatever they may be) should be carried out, in all their integrity, or that the Natives should be left to themselves,—an alternative destructive to their own interests.

At Maketu, there were but few Natives, and no runanga; our Assessor, Tohi te Ururangi, managing everything in his own person. Besides which, all the people seemed under the personal influence of the Rev. Mr. Chapman, who exercised a paternal authority over them. At Otamarakau, until break of day, the talk was all about the runanga ; and at Matata it was found flourishing with great authority. At Whakatane, they suspended its operations until after they had done fighting about the land. This broil originated in a slight quarrel about the site for a mill, and was said to be beyond the power of runanga, or Government influence, or anything but the force of arms, to decide: and so they were left to finish it, having lost seven on one side (Ngatiawa) and fifteen on the other (Ngatipukeko). At Ohiwa they had certainly gone stark mad on the subject. One man was fined a foal for carrying a pistol with him on the beach. Another was fined £5 for stating his opinion that the runanga of the place had in a certain instance acted improperly. Indeed the runangas are as bad as the Star Chamber, for not allowing their acts to be evil spoken of. I have heard of their going about the houses, eaves-dropping, and afterwards citing the husband or wife before the Council for some tart remark or reply which one of them had used to others; and then when both parties naturally joined forces, and complained of the inquisitoral character of the runanga, the latter body has fallen back on its dignity, and fined each of them severely for contempt of Court. In another case, a man was fined 10s, for properly correcting his own child, It is from this kind of thraldom and perpetual interference, that so many of the middle and lower classes of Maories, would, I believe, delight to be liberated. Another man, at Ohiwa, was informed by his wife that a youth of the village had taken tile liberty of tickling her on the arm ; on which he instantly called the runanga, and demanded £150 damages. Not having many friends on the bench, he lost his case, which he then removed to Opotiki, whose Council adjudged him £20, and the offence was at last compounded for by the present of a young horse. Now, considering that nearly all temptation to irregular behaviour, in the Maori society, proceeds in the first instance from the woman and not from the man, it will be seen what a lucrative investment can be made by inter-marrying with a Maori coquette who will be artful enough to inveigle others, without committing herself or husband. In this way much money and property changes hands in New Zealand. I recollect one of the Waitara people being fined £200 for adultery with one of the women of the Puketapu, and this large sum was collected and paid by the tribe. Immediately after this, the tables were turned, and one of the Puketapus was found convicted of a similar offence with one of the chief married woman of Waitara. Expecting to meet with equal promptitude, as from themselves, they laid the damages at £300, hoping to clear £100 by the transaction, for such it was in every sense of the word. For I was credibly informed, that it was a mere intrigue between the young chief and his wife (never very chaste), that she should so prostitute herself, as not only to bring back to the tribe the original fine, but half as much again, by way of interest. At my suggestion, the £200 were re-paid to the Atiawas, and a full stop put to all further prosecutions for criminal convictions of so outrageous a character. But for that, we should shortly not have had a virtuous woman in the district.

At Opotiki there was a very extensive Runanga—indeed there were two, one for the young men, and the other for the adults, this latter one comprising 70 members; I saw them all, and made provisional arrangements with them to accept our better system in lieu of this objectionable and unwieldy one. They chose a very intelligent Chief called Poihipi as Assessor (subject to the Governor's approval), and two secs of 12 each, to act as Runanga for corporate purposes; and I took care that the Protestants and Roman Catholics should be well intermixed in each set. At first, they wished for an Assessor to be appointed for each church, but finally agreed to unite in choosing Poihipi, which they would not have done for any other man in the tribe. The people of this place had thirteen vessels, ten of which were in the river; they had upwards of fifty ploughs, 26 drays and carts, and other implements in proportion. They have miles of good roads, leading to a water mill in the centre, which cost them £800; and some of the bridges, entirely of Maori workmanship, are equal to many on the South Road. The fact of this having been formerly the station of the Rev. Messrs. Wilson and Davies, will partly account for this advancement; in addition to which they receive counsel and encouragement from the Europeans living amongst them, and especially from the Roman Catholic Priest (Rev. J. Alletage), who seems to advise them in their worldly affairs with great zeal and judgement. And yet, for want of a few mechanics, their agricultural implements and coasting vessels were falling into a sad state of unrepair; and the Government could do no better service to these industrious but isolated people (as well as to those of Tauranga) than by encouraging a few tradesmen, such as a miliar, a wheelright, a baker, a carpenter, a blacksmith, and a shoemaker (partly for repairing their harness), to go down and settle amongst them. The Runanga promised me to give small sections of land to such parties as might agree to go and occupy themselves partly in their own trades. Few better places could be chosen than Opotiki for working out such a system, nor could Government assistance be rendered them in a more useful oa unobjectioable manner; and from such an example the whole of the Bay of Plenty and the East Cape would soon be sensibly affected. Whereas, if allowed to run, as they are at present, in the mischievous work of “Runanga whakawas,” all their other and more important affairs will be neglected, and the whole of the Whakatohea and Urewera tribes thrown into a state of internal discord. Their great council of 70 members actually sat during five long nights, in adjudicating a case which ended after all in a verdict of 8s.; and yet, I should think, these are men capable of being raised to anything within the scope of Maori capacity.

At Wairoa on the Tarawera Lake I found a model runanga, acting under a very excellent chief called Te Kepa, and in co-operation with Parakaia, the Government Assessor of that place; but then they have the rare advantage of being advised in everything by their missionary, the Rev. Mr. Spencer, and his intelligent and indefatigable lady. These Natives give a hearty attention to improvements of many kinds, in houses, fences, roads, bridges, and mills; and if Te Kepa, who is a Church teacher, could be obtained from Archdeacon Brown, and appointed as chief Assessor, this district would soon feel the effect of the change; for old men like Parakaia are not suitable for that office, however well they might do as the head of a runanga. I wrote a note to Tauranga to that effect, but the Venerable the Archdeacon declined to part with so useful a teacher. And yet, on the opposite side of the lake, amongst the Ngatirangihihi I found the runanga all at fault, meddling, and judging, and fining on all hands; and it took me two whole days and nights in getting them into order, and re-adjusting the most unreasonable of cases.

At Rotorua, I met the Arawa and Ngatiwhakaue tribes, to whom I explained the whole of our English system (as far as suitable to themselves): and after duo discussion, they wrote a. letter of proposal to His Excellency the Governor for the appointment of a Resident Magistrate, when their Runanga Maori would be given up. In consequence of this, and of the general state of good feeling throughout the Bay of Plenty, Mr, Clarke was gazetted for that circuit.

At Patatere, each village had its runanga; but all subject, more or less, to the influence of their head Chief, Paora Te Uatai, who lost his life at Taranaki. I spent a night with him on the Thames, and found him to be a very intelligent and agreeable old man.

At Maungatautari, our Assessor, Tioriori, sat with me on a case of dispute between some of the Arawa and Ngatihaua, and I could not but admire the judicious and straightforward manner in which he acted. The former party were oast in a sum of £5, which was cheerfully paid on the spot. But here also was a runanga sitting independently of the Assessor, and which recently mulcted a resident Pakeha to a very unreasonable amount, but, alter explanation, they allowed me to over-rule the judgment. Tioriori is a man of powerful influence in the whole of that and the Upper Waikato district, and should not be allowed by the Government to lapse away into the Maori King party, as he seems at present to be doing. And yet, in his case, a circumstance, occurred shewing how strongly the head Chiefs object to the law being carried out when against themselves. At his own instance, a stock-yard had been erected for the impounding of all cattle found trespassing; when, as chance would have it, five of his own herd were amongst the first to be, impounded, nor would the keeper let them go unless the fees were paid. On this, the Chief made a long blustering speech on the unreasonableness &c. of impounding his cattle with the rest, and succeeded with his hatchet in opening out a way of escape, and so let them go. This was, at once, the means of breaking up a good system, well adapted to the place, and to which all the people had given their consent.

On the Upper Waikato and Waipa rivers, there were Runangas everywhere, but none in such full and active exercise as about Rangiawhia and Mohoanui, and strange work they seemed to be making of it in many instances, Each hapu had its own leading Runanga, and all these bodies were continually, being brought into collision with each other; so much so, that on my arrival at Rangiawhia,, one of these misunderstandings had very nearly terminated in bloodshed. Hori Te Waru, with his son Taati and many others, broke off from the system whilst I was there, submitted their cases to my Court, and joined in requesting that a Resident Magistrate should bo appointed to Otawhao, the former official residence of Dr. Harsant.

My visit to Waikato being professedly not so much of an official as of a friendly character, and for the collection of information, precluded me from seeing so much of the Runangas as I otherwise should have done. But from all that I did see and bear, I came to the same conclusion as in other places, namely, that the Government should leave no step untried to bring the whole of these councils under its own central management, if ever anything like order and efficient control is expected to result from them. But if, as hitherto, each tribe or village is allowed to receive or reject the direction of the Government according to its own will, then I cannot see how any system whatever can be made to work efficiently, or anything like proper order be maintained in the country. The mere spirit of opposition alone, and the love of notoriety, will breed dissentients against the most perfect of institutions, if the Maoris once know that the final decision will rest with themselves.

At Napier, the Native Council seems to be getting louder in its pretensions, which is not to be wondered at, considering all the reports they have received from Waikato and Taranaki during the last eighteen months. I had the good fortune to meet about sixty of them together at the erection of their mill, near Clive, and I could not but think, as I listened to them, what good stuff was there for all the purposes of life, if their energies could only be directed and sustained in a right channel. And the same observation I made at Wairarapa, Kapiti, Whanganui, and other districts, in each of which are to be found many Native Chiefs of middle age, who only require to know that insubordination to law will not be tolerated, to make them the most submissive of subjects and the most effectual of coadjutors. Most of the Runangas contain men who are constantly advising the rest to act with caution and decency, and in some cases their counsel is adopted and peace reigns throughput the district; but in other, cases (and by far the most numerous) a few of the more thoughtless and energetic will seize the rents, and bring disgrace upon their brethren by proceedings of the most irregular description. And it requires a man to be constantly moving amongst them, and that too in the character of a Magistrate, to feel the full effects of such proceedings in the obstacles which they oppose to the general efficiency of his work.

In many of the Runangas there is a strong determination evinced to interfere with the Europeans residing in the district. But for this, the latter have in a great measure to thank themselves, by frequently appealing to the Runangas in the first instance for the collection of their debts, &c. Then, when in return they are cited to appear before the Council for some debt or trespass of their own, they complain loudly of the interference, and decline to comply, leaving the Maoris to take by force what is refused to their authority ; and in so doing many of them are satisfied that they are doing right Some or the Europeans also will make use of the Resident Magistrate or Maori Runanga, just as it suits their convenience; and then, in their turn, the Natives will often refuse to appear, saying that they do not acknowledge our jurisdiction. For this, in the present state of things, there appears to be no remedy but patience.

In the foregoing observations, I have purposely omitted to notice the great waste of time, unnecessary consumption of food, and irregularity of behaviour, especially amongst the younger people, attending the too frequent recurrence of these Runangas. Most of the Missionaries have given up the old system of holding “huis” of general assemblies, because of the evil which accompanied them : and I am satisfied that much of the popularity which attaches to these miscellaneous gatherings of both sexes (unattended either by their Ministers or their Monitors) is attributable to the opportunity which they afford of undiscovered indulgence in secret sin : though I am sorry to say that after thirty years of Missionary instruction, the Native people generally do not appear to feel that such connexion amongst the young or unmarried is in anywise sinful. But it is to be hoped that on the adoption of a more regular system, such evils would in time be extracted, and nothing but the good remain.

In conclusion, I must again apologise for the length and tediousness of my remarks, which nothing but a painful experience of the difficulties described, could have induced me to make.

H. H. TURTON,

Resident Magistrate.

Auckland, November 20th, 1861.

No. 2.

REPORT BY THE CIVIL COMMISSIONER OF THE BAY OF ISLANDS RESPECTING THE RUNANGA.

Civil Commissioner’s Office, Waimate,

April 3rd, 1862.

Sir,—

In submitting to the Government the Minutes of the First Session of the Bay of Islands District Runanga, which lias been duly constituted by authority and carried out with every prospect of final success, 1 would beg to make a few general remarks.