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Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi)
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People from all political persuasions use 'The Treaty' as a weapon to prosecute
or support their own particular argument or course of action, or to insist that
others take some action. This page offers factual information from hopefully un-biased sources in order to allow you (if you want to) to argue from an educated viewpoint. The book suggestions at the bottom of the page obviously do not fit the 'unbiased' category and are only the 'tip of the iceberg' of literature available. The
National Archives (main link page) and the Treaty website : Relevant Acts of Parliament: This is what the Treaty actually looks like (this is one copy of it - there were several produced, including Maori language versions like this one). It lay buried in a forgotten, damp, storeroom at Parliament House, water-damaged and eaten by rats, until being accidentally discovered sometime in 1908.
Perhaps by being better informed we all might come to our own personal view of the actual scope of this document and be able to rate for ourselves the validity of the arguments of others. In the hopeful words of Governor Hobson (expressed at the time of the signing at Waitangi): "We are one people" I wonder what he would think now? My own opinion about the document itself? well... Having said that, it was a wonderfully-intentioned document created by people who had high hopes. You can make the Treaty mean anything you want, and protagonists from every side are doing exactly that. It's wide open. The only people who can really argue, about what was really meant by the words, have been dead for 150 years. If only we could talk to them... But at least by reading about it, learning about it, and caring about the issue, you might prevent extremists from either end of the scale from getting their way by force applied over apathy. Be educated, Be involved, The NZ taxpayer has spent billions of dollars on this already and looks like having to spend billions more. You can forget the 'Fiscal Envelope' which was supposed to put a limit on Claims. In reality it no longer exists. Perhaps it never did. Here's some reading you can do: Bullshit, Backlash and Bleeding Hearts - A confused person's guide to The
Great Race Row. Old NZ by a Pakeha Maori The Travesty of Waitangi - Towards Anarchy History of New Zealand and its inhabitants These four books, one light-hearted and the others giving completely opposite views, should tease you enough to get you started. No matter how red-necked you may be, just challenge your own objectivity and give them a good read. What harm can reading do, eh? If you need some controversial statements to get your 'learning juices' going, try these: "However good intentions may have been, a close study of events shows
that the Treaty of Waitangi was hastily and inexpertly drawn up, ambiguous and
contradictory in content, chaotic in its execution. To persist in postulating
that this was a 'sacred compact' is sheer hypocrisy" _______________________________________ (describing the Treaty document) ________________________________________ "I was present at the great meeting at Waitangi when the celebrated
Treaty was signed, and also at a meeting which took place subsequently on the
same subject at Hokianga. There was a great deal of talk by the natives,
principally of securing their proprietary right in the land and their personal
liberty. Everything else they were only too happy to yield to the Queen, as they
said repeatedly, because they knew they could only be saved from the rule of
other nations by sitting under the shadow of the Queen of England. In my hearing
they (the natives) frequently remarked 'Let us be one people. We have the Gospel
from England, now let us have the Law from England...' The natives were at that
time in mortal fear of the French, and justly thought they had done a pretty
good stroke of business when they placed the British lion between themselves and
the French eagle... There is a native proverb which says with reference to a man
of great keenness and sagacity: 'He was born with his teeth' and in the matter
of making bargains the Maoris may be said to be people who were born with their
teeth." ________________________________________ "If the Treaty had been read and understood on its arrival in London
(it lay unattended for some time after it reached London) it would have been
disavowed" _________________________________________ "Towards the end of the year (1844) a British Cabinet committee had
declared that the Treaty of Waitangi was rather imprudent and unwise, adding
that all land not actually occupied by Maori was the property of the British
Crown... The Governor and Anglican missionaries had always led the Maori to
believe that the Treaty was for their benefit, to preserve their rights over
their lands and property..." __________________________________________ "All dealings with the Aborigines for their lands must be conducted on
the same principles of sincerity, justice and good faith as must govern your
transactions with them for the recognition of Her Majesty's Sovereignty in the
Islands. Nor is this all. They must not be permitted to enter into any Contracts
in which they might be the ignorant and unintentional authors of injuries to
themselves. You will not, for example, purchase from them any territory the
retention of which by them would be essential, or highly conducive, to their own
comfort, safety or subsistence. The acquisition of Land by the Crown for the
future settlements of British subjects must be confined to such districts as the
natives can alienate without distress or serious inconvenience to themselves. To
secure the observance of this rule will be one of the first duties of their
official protector..." __________________________________________ "Now in making purchases from the Natives I ever represented to them
that though the money payment might be small, their chief recompense would lie
in the kindness of the Government towards them, the erection & maintenance
of schools and hospitals for their benefit and so on - you know it all" __________________________________________ "We've run these workshops - a couple with Pakeha too - and everybody
once they learn, they go "oh, that's why you guys are going so nutty,
that's why. Now we get it. Now what do we do?". It's not a Maori-Pakeha
thing, it's not a black-white thing, it's a Justice thing. And I think all New
Zealanders have got a really good sense of Justice. They know the facts and then
they're cool. But it's all the distortion that's really unhelpful and
divisive." __________________________________________ "Radix malorum est cupiditas" (Jealousy and greed are the root of all evil) - Geoffrey Chaucer.
©
1993-2008 Staff Training Associates Ltd Page updated 20th June 2008
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