For proofs 9 and 10, I need to give a little background.
On the 15th June, 1839, Britain declared, on paper at least, that New Zealand was part of New South Wales ( called Australia today). This was done in anticipation of Maori ceding sovereignty in 1840.
July 30, Hobson was chosen by the British Parliament to be the man to go to New Zealand to work with the chiefs for the cession of Sovereignty.
He left England with his wife and children on the 20th of August, 1839.
Enroute, he was to call in at Sydney, meeting with the governor of New South Wales (the name of Australia back then) George Gipps. Hobson arrived in Sydney 23rd December 1839.
The next important date is January 14. This is when Gipps installed Hobson as the governor of New Zealand.
Hobson set sail for New Zealand on January 19th, 1840, arriving in Paihia 10 days later, Wednesday the 29th of January.
There are 31 days in January. The Treaty was signed at Waitangi on the 6th of February, so Hobson and his team only had nine days to write the Treaty. Not long.
On the 6th of February 1840, 52 chiefs signed the Treaty at Waitangi.
Between February 6th 1840 at Waitangi, and September 1840, ships were sailing around NZ gathering the signatures of the other chiefs.
There were nine copies of the Treaty. 7 were made of dog skin, and two were written on paper.
On the 21st May, 1840, Hobson declared that Britain had sovereignty over the North Island and on June 15, the South Island and Stewart Island
The South Island and Steward Island were claimed on the grounds of the doctrine of discovery. The doctrine of discovery?
This doctrine goes right back to Captain’s Cooks proclamation at Mercury Bay on 15 November 1769, “At Mercury Bay Cook simply reported that his party had cut into a tree the ship's name and the date of its landing and displayed the English flag”. (Dr Bain Attwood. Empire And The Making Of Native Title. Cambridge University Press. 2022. page 23).
16 June 1840, the Legislative Council of New South Wales passed an Act extending the colony’s laws to New Zealand, as well as establishing courts and customs duties.
Four months went by.
During those four months, the signatures of the chiefs were still being gathered.
Had Hobson jumped the gun by declaring sovereignty over all New Zealand before all the signatures of the chiefs had been gathered?
No, he made the proclamations in anticipation of achieving sovereignty.
On 16 November 1840, New Zealand o^icially became a British Colony. Signed by the Queen, the Charter of November 16 vested the power of the British government in a Governor, making New Zealand a Crown colony separate from New South Wales.
11 years passed.
New Zealand’s first Constitution Act was passed by the British Parliament in 1852, setting out how the country would be governed.
It divided the country into six provinces: Auckland, New Plymouth, Wellington, Nelson, Canterbury and Otago. Each province had its own elected superintendents and provincial council.
David Bagnall, Principal Clerk (Procedure) in the O^ice of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, says the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 started us on our way as a democratic nation.
The 1852 Act launched our democracy.”
Now, my question is this.
Maori activists today say “Maori did not cede sovereignty”.
The British say “With 100% certainty, Maori ceded sovereignty.”
The onus is on both parties to prove their case with facts and reliable evidence.
To date, not one proof has been provided by Maori activists to prove their point.
All they come forth with is speculations, stories, anecdotes, and opinions.
All we ever hear today is the Maori perspective on the issue of sovereignty.
This is akin to a court case with only one side putting their case.
What about the British case.
I can tell you, from a British perspective, Maori ceded sovereignty.
By spending a small fortune colonising NZ, and all the stress and worry that went with that (Hobson died of stress and Governor Fitzroy committed suicide), were the British delusional? Just imagining that they had sovereignty, but they hadn’t? No. Impossible.
Why? There was a lot of British here who were involved in the Treaty – not just Hobson’s sta^, but the representatives of other nations like James Clendon, the US ambassador, and many many missionaries, people of great integrity and intelligence.
This large group of people were consulting constantly. They all agreed Maori ceded sovereignty.
Were all these British people living in a fantasy world, thinking that they had achieved sovereignty when in reality they hadn’t? No. Impossible.
If only Hobson, Lord Normanby, Henry Williams and the missionaries, James Clendon, James Busy, and the rest of the British team would rise from the dead and hold a meeting in parliament to tell us their side of the story.
Thankfully, they don’t have to. Why? Because they have left us full and comprehensive notes and records of what happened, and they all concur.
Maori ceded sovereignty.
Was Britain, and the British, the greatest nation on earth at the time, living in a fantasy world?