New Zealand 1843-1890

Otago. Meantime the New Zealand Company had not been idle, and

E. G. Wakefield's busy brain was filled with fresh schemes. In 1849 an

association had been formed at Glasgow in connection with the Free

Church of Scotland, to send Scottish families out to New Zealand. Not

knowing anything of the country, the new association asked the help of

the New Zealand Company, which was readily given, as the new settlers

proposed o buy land from the company. In 1844 an exploring party was

sent out, and, after some inquiry, chose a place on the east coast of

the South Island, called Otago. With the consent of the Governor 400,000

acres were there bought from the natives, and it seemed as if a new

colony would soon be formed. But the news of the Wairau massacre and the

unsettled state of the natives frightened intending settlers for a time.

It was not till November, 1847, that the John Wycliff and the Philip

Lang sailed from Greenock with the first company of settlers. They

reached their new home in March, 1848, under the guidance of Captain

Cargill, an old soldier, who had been chosen as leader of the new

settlement. At the head of a fine harbour, which they called Port

Chalmers, they laid the foundations of a town, to which they gave the

patriotic name of Dunedin, Gaelic for Edinburgh. It was in a fine

district, troubled by few natives, and it steadily grew. Less than a

year later, it had 745 inhabitants, who could boast of a good jetty, and

a newspaper. The life of pioneers cannot be very easy, but these were of

the right sort and prospered, and more would have joined them but for

two circumstances. First came the news of the rich gold discoveries in

California; and the most adventurous spirits hurried thither. Not only

did this keep settlers from coming to New Zealand, but indeed a thousand

of those she possessed left her shores for the goldfields. Then in this

same year, 1848, a violent earthquake took place, which knocked down

L15,000 worth of buildings in Wellington, and killed a man with his two

children.








Canterbury. Yet these unlucky accidents only delayed the progress of

the colony by a year or two, and in the year 1850 a new settlement was

formed. Seven years before this, Wakefield had conceived the idea of a

settlement in connection with the Church of England. A number of leading

men took up the notion, and among them was the famous Archbishop

Whately. An association was formed which bought 20,000 acres of the New

Zealand Company's land, to be selected later on. The settlers paid a

high price for this land, but the greater part of the money so received

was to be used for their own benefit, either in bringing out fresh

settlers or in building churches and schools. A bishop and schoolmasters

were to go out; a nobleman and other men of wealth bought land and

prepared to take stock and servants out to the fine free lands of the

south. Wakefield had enlisted in the new scheme a gentleman named John

Robert Godley, who became very ardent, and under his direction three

ships were filled with 600 settlers and their property, and left England

on their long voyage to the Antipodes. They reached their destination,

the east coast of the South Island, on 16th December, 1850, and gladly

felt the soil of a lovely land under their feet. In their enthusiasm

they sang the National Anthem, and scattered out to view their new

homes. A high and rugged hill prevented their seeing inland till they

climbed to its brow, and then they perceived long plains of fertile

soil, watered by numerous streams of bright and rapid water. They

resolved to found their city on the plains, making only a port upon the

sea-shore. Governor Grey and his wife came over from Wellington to

welcome them, and they found that much had been done to make them

comfortable. Large sheds had been put up in which they could find

shelter till they should build their own homes. A pretty spot by a river

named the Avon was chosen for the town, which was laid out in a square;

and a church and schoolroom were built among the first erections. In

keeping with the religious fervour that lay at the basis of the whole

undertaking, the town was called Christchurch; while the name of

Lyttelton was given to the seaport, a road being made between the two

and over the hill.






During the next year 2,600 settlers arrived. Some of these were young

men of birth and fortune, who brought with them everything needed to

transplant to New Zealand the luxuries of England. A large proportion of

the settlers were labouring men of a superior class, who were brought

out as servants at the expense of the wealthy settlers. There was a good

deal of disappointment. Many of the labourers crossed over to Australia,

where the gold discoveries offered every man a chance of fortune, and

where wages were very high. The wealthiest people therefore had to do

their own work, and few of them liked it. The result was that many left

the settlement and never came back to it. But from Australia came

relief. For some of the squatters who had been dislodged by the

inroad of diggers to Victoria, hearing of the great grassy plains of

Canterbury, with never a tree to be cleared from the natural pasturage,

crossed with flocks of sheep, and bought land in the new settlement. In

1853 Canterbury had 5,000 people; it produced L40,000 worth of wool a

year, and seventy vessels reached its seaport. For a place in its third

year such progress was wonderful.





New Zealand Prosperous. The natives being at peace, and the price of

land being reduced, settlers streamed steadily into New Zealand. In 1853

there were 31,000 white people in the colony, and they had bought from

the natives 24,000,000 acres of land. They had a million of sheep, and

their exports were over L300,000 in value. The Government was quite

solvent again, having a revenue of L140,000 a year. A very large number

of farms were by this time in full work, those in the North Island being

chiefly used for crops, those in the South Island chiefly for sheep. But

the New Zealand Company had disappeared. In 1850 it was a quarter of a

million pounds in debt, and it was wound up, leaving its shareholders

with heavy losses.



An important event in the history of New Zealand occurred on 30th June,

1852, when the English Parliament gave the colony power to make its own

laws and manage its own affairs, practically without interference from

London. A bill was passed providing that there should be six provinces,

each with its own provincial council, consisting of not less than nine

persons to be chosen to manage local affairs. There was also to be the

General Assembly, consisting of a legislative council, appointed by the

Governor, and a House of Representatives consisting of forty members to

be chosen by the colonists. The Governor, who was now Sir George Grey,

did much to bring these new arrangements into force and to adapt them to

the needs of the settlers. Having ruled well for eight years and brought

the colony into a prosperous condition, and being required to set in

order the affairs of Cape Colony, he left New Zealand on the last day of

1853, much regretted by the Maoris and also by the majority of the

colonists.






Colonel Wynyard acted as Governor for the time being, and summoned the

first Parliament of New Zealand to meet in May, 1854. He had much

difficulty in getting the system of Cabinets of responsible Ministers to

work smoothly. The colonists from different provinces had interests

which lay in opposite directions, and political matters did not move

easily. He was glad when the new Governor, Colonel Gore Browne, arrived

in September, 1855. At that time New Zealand had 45,000 white settlers

in it, and the discovery next year of rich goldfields in Otago attracted

many more, and gave a great impetus to Dunedin. Everything promised a

splendid future, when again the Maoris became troublesome.





The King Movement. The Waikato tribe had always been averse to the

selling of their land. They said truly enough that the money the white

men gave for it was soon spent, but the land was gone for ever, and the

settlers were fencing in 40,000 additional acres every year. They

called a meeting on the banks of Lake Taupo to discuss the question. A

large number of chiefs were present, and they agreed to form a Land

League, all members of which undertook to sell no more land to white

men. At this time also a new project was formed. The Maoris felt their

weakness whilst divided up into so many tribes. Union would make them

strong. They resolved to select one chief to be king of all the Maoris,

and for that purpose they chose the redoubted Te Whero Whero, who

hoisted the Maori flag. But he was old and inclined to die in peace,

and, dying soon afterwards, was succeeded by his son, a young man of no

ability. Many of the Maoris held aloof from these leagues; they were of

tribes hostile to the Waikatos, or else they were glad to get the white

man's money, and felt that they had still plenty of land for their own

use. But in the heart of the North Island, some 4,000 or 5,000 Maori

warriors nursed a wild project of driving the English out of the

country. They gathered muskets and powder; they strengthened their pahs

and filled them with potatoes and yams. Governor Browne took no steps to

check them, and suffered several thousand muskets to be bought from

English ships along the coasts.





Taranaki War. Meantime a quarrel had been going forward which gave

the Maoris a pretext for fighting. In 1859 Governor Browne had visited

Taranaki, and announced that if any of the natives had land to sell he

was ready to buy it. A Maori offered him 600 acres, proving that he was

the owner of the land. The Governor gave him L200 for it; but the chief

of the tribe to which this Maori belonged was one of the Land League,

and refused to let the land be sold. The Governor after inquiry came to

the conclusion that as the rightful owner of the land was willing to

sell it, no one else had a claim to interfere. He sent surveyors up to

measure the land. They were stopped by the chief. The Governor sent some

soldiers to protect the surveyors. The whole of the Taranaki Maoris rose

in arms, and swept the few soldiers down to the coast. They then ravaged

the whole district, burning houses, crops, and fences; and all the

settlers of Taranaki crowded for defence into the town of New Plymouth.

Most of them were ruined, and many of them left for other colonies.

Governor Browne now sent round from Auckland all the soldiers he had;

but, in accordance with their agreement, the Waikato tribes sent

warriors to assist the Taranaki tribe. Their Maori king having no great

influence, these were placed under the command of Te Waharoa, a Maori

chief of much skill and popularity. Many skirmishes took place, in which

the natives, through their quickness and subtle plans, inflicted more

injury than they received. But General Pratt having arrived from Sydney

with fresh soldiers, and prepared to sap the pahs and blow them up, the

Maoris became afraid, and Te Waharoa proposed that peace should be made,

which was done in May, 1861.





Second Maori War. Governor Browne then called upon the Waikato

tribes, who were then in arms, to make submission and take the oath of

obedience to the Queen's laws. Very few did so; and when Sir Duncan

Cameron arrived to take the chief command with more troops and big guns,

he stated that he would invade the Waikato territory and punish those

tribes for their disobedience.



But then came news that the English Government, being dissatisfied with

the way in which matters were drifting into war, was going to send back

Sir George Grey. He arrived in September, 1861, to take the place of

Colonel Browne, and after a month or two summoned a great meeting of

the Waikatos to hear him speak. They gathered and discussed the land

question. Grey said that those who did not wish to sell their land could

keep it by the treaty of Waitangi; but that no one must hinder another

man from selling what was his own. The land for which Governor Browne

had given L200 at Taranaki was still in the occupation of armed Maoris,

and it must be given up. Grey reasoned with them, but they were

obstinate. Bishop Selwyn went among them and exhorted them to peace,

but made no impression.



Meanwhile General Cameron set his men at work to make roads, and during

the year and a half while the Governor was trying to bring the Maoris to

reason, he was making good military highways throughout the North

Island.



In October, 1862, the Maoris held another great meeting among themselves

to discuss their position. They had grown confident, and thought that

the Governor's mildness arose from weakness. They resolved to fight. The

Governor sent soldiers to take possession of the land at Taranaki. Te

Waharoa sent word to the Taranaki Maoris to begin shooting, and he would

soon be with them. He was as good as his word, and laid a trap for a

body of English soldiers and killed ten of them.



The Waikatos sent an embassy to all the other tribes, urging them to

join and drive the white men out of the country. Te Waharoa was chosen

to command in a grand attack at Auckland, and for that purpose the

Maoris in two columns moved stealthily through the forest down the

Waikato valley towards the town, threatening to massacre every white man

in it. But General Cameron was there in time to meet them. They fell

back to a line of rifle pits they had formed, and from that shelter did

much damage to the British troops. But at last the Maoris were dislodged

and chased with bayonets up the Waikato, losing fifty of their men. They

had stronger entrenchments farther up, where a thousand men were

encamped with women to cook for them and to make cartridges. So strongly

were they posted that Cameron waited for four months whilst guns and

supplies were being brought up along the roads, which were now good and

well made. By getting round to the side of their camp, and behind it, he

made it necessary for them to fall back again, which they did.





Rangiriri. They now made themselves very secure at a place called

Rangiriri, where a narrow road was left between the Waikato River and a

boggy lake. This space they had blocked with a fence of thick trees

twenty feet high, and with two ditches running across the whole length.

In the midst of this strong line they had set up a redoubt, a sort of

square fortress, from the walls of which they could fire down upon the

attackers in any direction. About 500 Maoris well armed took up their

position in this stronghold. Cameron advanced against them with 770 men

and two guns, each throwing shot of forty pounds weight. At the same

time four gunboats with 500 soldiers were sent up the river to take the

Maori position in flank. At half-past four on a July morning the British

bugles sounded the attack, and the fight lasted until the darkness of

night put an end to it. During that fierce day the British charged again

and again, to be met by a murderous fire from behind the palisades and

from the walls of the redoubt. Forty-one soldiers had been killed and

ninety-one wounded, the line of palisades had been captured, but the

Maoris had all gathered safely within the redoubt. During the night the

troops were quartered all round so as to prevent them from escaping, and

a trench was cut to lead to a mine under the redoubt so that it could be

blown up with gunpowder in the morning. The Maoris saw this project and

could not prevent it. In the early dawn, after a night spent in war

dances and hideous yelling, some of them burst out by the side towards

the lake, and rushed past or jumped over the soldiers who were resting

there. A heavy fire, poured into them from their rear, killed a great

many of them. Seeing this, a large party of the Maoris, and among them

Te Waharoa and the Maori king, stayed in the redoubt. But they knew that

they were trapped, and next day they surrendered, in all 183 men with a

few women. Sixty or seventy of the Maoris had been killed, but several

hundreds escaped.








Orakau. Meantime General Carey, who was next in command to General

Cameron, had been chasing another large body of the Waikato tribe far up

the river more than half way to its source in Lake Taupo. It was a wild

and mountainous district, and the Maoris were sheltered at Orakau, a pah

in a very strong position. Carey spent three days in running a mine

under the walls, while his guns and mortars kept up a perfect storm of

shot and shell. Then he offered to accept their surrender. They refused

to give in. He begged them at least to let the women and children go and

they would be allowed to pass out unhurt. They said that men and women

would fight for ever and ever. Yet when the mines began to burst, and

the guns poured in redoubled showers of death, they found they could

hold the place no longer. They formed a column, and made a sudden rush

to escape. So quick were they and so favourable the ground, that they

would have escaped if the British had not had a body of 300 or 400

cavalry, who rode after them and sabred all who would not surrender.

About 200 were killed, and although several hundreds escaped yet they

were so dispersed that they made no further stand. They left their pahs,

and though a series of skirmishes took place, yet the Waikato rebellion

was ended, and Cameron had only to leave a sufficient number of military

settlers along the Waikato Valley to make certain that peace and order

would be maintained.





The Gate Pah. There was a tribe at Tauranga, on the Bay of Plenty,

with whom Governor Grey was displeased, for they had sent men, guns and

food to help the Waikatos, and they showed a warlike disposition. He

demanded their submission, and they refused it. He then sent General

Cameron with 1,500 soldiers to deal with them. This force found the

Tauranga tribe prepared to fight in a strong place called the Gate Pah,

built on a ridge with a swamp at each side. They had 500 men in it, all

well armed. Cameron had three heavy guns placed in position, and during

the night 700 soldiers passed round one of the swamps to get at the rear

of the Maoris. In the morning a terrific fire was opened, and for two

hours the place was swept by shot and shell, but the Maoris had dug

underground shelters for themselves, and were little injured. After that

the guns were used to break a hole in the palisades, and at four o'clock

there was a sufficient breach to admit an attacking party. Three hundred

men were chosen, and put in front of the place. A rocket was sent up as

a signal, and the attacking party dashed at the breach. As they entered

it, not a Maori could be seen, but puffs of smoke all along the earthen

bank showed where they were concealed. The assailants were a dense

crowd, on whom every shot told. All the officers were killed. More men

kept crowding in, only to drop before the murderous fire. Suddenly a

panic seized the men. A rush was made to get out of the breach again,

and while the soldiers were running away volley after volley was fired

into the crowd. General Cameron did not renew the attack, for evening

was falling. There came on a dark wet night; and although surrounded on

all hands, the Maoris contrived to slip gently past the sentries,

leaving some wounded men behind them.





Te Ranga. The Maoris fell back a few miles and chose a strong

position at Te Ranga for a new pah. They had only dug the ditches and

made some rifle pits when the British were upon them. The troops carried

the position with a rush, the Maoris standing up against the bayonets

with the coolest courage. A hand-to-hand fight forced the natives out of

the ditches, and then they turned and fled. The horse soldiers pursued

and killed many. Altogether 123 of the Maoris were killed and a large

number captured, while the English lost ten men killed.





Wereroa. After this action, though skirmishes were frequent, the

Maoris made no determined stand, and on the English side affairs were

carried on in a slow fashion. General Cameron had under him 10,000

regular soldiers, and nearly 10,000 colonial volunteers. He had nearly a

dozen vessels of different sorts, either on the coasts or up the river,

and he had an abundance of heavy guns. There arose quarrels between him

and the Governor, who thought that with less than 1,000 Maoris under

arms more progress ought to have been made. General Cameron resigned and

departed in the middle of 1865. The Governor wished him before he went

to attack a pah called Wereroa, but the general said he required 2,000

more men to do it, and refused. Yet Sir George Grey, taking himself the

command of the colonial forces, captured the fort without losing a man.

The bulk of the Maoris escaped, and kept up for a time a guerilla

warfare in forests and on mountain sides; but at last the Tauranga

tribes, or the miserable remnant that was left, surrendered to the

Governor. Grey, in admiration of their generous and often noble conduct

and their straightforward mode of fighting, allowed all the prisoners to

go free; and though he punished them by confiscating a quarter of their

land, he did his best to settle them on the other three-fourths in peace

and with such advantages as British help could secure them. So there

came quietness round the Bay of Plenty.





The Hau Hau Religion. Meantime new trouble was brewing in the

Taranaki district. There the soldiers were skirmishing with the Maoris,

but had them well in control, when a pair of mad or crafty native

priests set the tribes in wild commotion, by declaring that the Angel

Gabriel had told them in a vision that at the end of the year 1864 all

white men would be driven out of New Zealand, that he himself would

defend the Maoris, and that the Virgin Mary would be always with them;

that the religion of the white men was false, and that legions of angels

would come and teach the Maoris a better religion. In the meantime all

good Maoris who shouted the word Hau Hau as they went into battle would

be victorious, and angels would protect their lives. A body of these

fanatics, deeply impressed with the belief in these and many other

follies, tried their fortunes against the soldiers at Taranaki, but

with small success. Forty of them, in spite of shouting their Hau Hau,

fell before the muskets and guns of the white men. Then 300 of them made

an effort in another direction, and, moving down the river Wanganui,

threatened the little town at its mouth. Wanganui was defended by 300

soldiers; but all the out settlers up the valley were leaving their

farms and hurrying in for shelter, when 300 men of the Wanganui tribe,

who liked the white men and were friendly with them, offered to fight

the Hau Haus. The challenge was accepted; and about 200 of the fanatics

landed on a little island called Moutoa, in the middle of the river.

Though surrounded by a pretty margin of white pebbles, it was covered

with ferns and thick scrub. Through this at daybreak the combatants

crept towards each other, the Hau Haus gesticulating and making queer

sounds. At last they fell to work, and volley after volley was

discharged at only ten yards distance. The friendly natives, having seen

three of their chiefs fall, turned and fled. Many had plunged into the

river, when one of their chiefs made a stand at the end of the island,

and gathering twenty men around him poured in a volley and killed the

Hau Hau leader. This surprised the fanatics and they hesitated; then a

second volley and a charge routed them. Back came the friendly Maoris

who had fled, and chased their enemies into the stream, wherein a heavy

slaughter took place. About seventy of the Hau Haus were slain. The

twelve who fell on the friendly side were buried in Wanganui with

military honours, and a handsome monument now marks the place where

their bones rest.





Conclusion of Maori Wars. In 1866 General Chute came to take

command of the troops, in place of General Cameron. A vigorous campaign

crushed the Hau Haus after much skirmishing in different parts of the

Wellington district. But the chief trouble arose from another source.

The 183 prisoners taken at Rangiriri, together with some others taken

afterwards, were detained on board a hulk near Auckland. Sir George Grey

wished to deal in a kindly fashion with them, and proposed to release

them if they gave their word not to give further trouble. The Ministers

of his Cabinet were against this proposal, but agreed that he should

send them to an island near Auckland to live there without any guards.

They gave their promise, but broke it and all but four escaped, Te

Waharoa being among them. They chose the top of a circular hill

thirty-five miles from Auckland and there fortified themselves in a pah

called Omaha. But they did no harm to any one, and as they soon quietly

dispersed they were not meddled with.



A wild outburst of Hau Hau fanaticism on the east coast of the Bay of

Plenty stirred up the fires of discord again, when a worthy old Church

of England missionary named Mr. Volkner was seized, and, after some

savage rites had been performed, was hanged on a willow tree as a

victim. More fighting followed, in which a large share was taken by a

Maori chief named Ropata, who, clad in European uniform and with the

title of Major Ropata, fought stoutly against the Hau Haus, and captured

several pahs.





Te Kooti. When the last of these pahs was captured an English

officer declared that one of the friendly chiefs named Te Kooti was

playing false and acting as a spy. Thinking to do as Governor Grey had

done with Rauparaha, this officer seized the chief, who, without trial

of any sort, was sent off to the Chatham Islands, a lonely group 300

miles away, which New Zealand was now using as a penal establishment for

prisoners. This conduct was quite unfair, as Te Kooti, so far as can now

be known, was not a spy, and was friendly to the English.



Nearly 300 Maoris were on the Chatham Islands, most of them Hau Hau

prisoners. They were told that if they behaved well they would be

allowed to return in two years. When two years were past and no signs of

their liberation appeared, Te Kooti planned a bold escape. An armed

schooner, the Rifleman, having come in with provisions the Maoris

suddenly overpowered the twelve soldiers who formed their guard, and

seized the vessel. One soldier was killed whilst fighting, but all the

rest were treated gently. The whole of the Maoris went on board and then

the crew were told that unless they agreed to sail the vessel back to

New Zealand they would all be killed. Day and night Maori guards

patrolled the deck during the voyage, and one of them with loaded gun

and drawn sword always stood over the helmsman and compelled him to

steer them home. They reached the shores of New Zealand a little north

of Hawke Bay, and landed, taking with them all the provisions out of

the vessel, but treating the crew in a kindly way. A ship was sent round

with soldiers who attacked the runaways, but they were too few, and too

hastily prepared, so that Te Kooti easily defeated them. Three times was

he attacked by different bodies of troops, and three times did he drive

off his assailants. Cutting a path for himself through the forests, he

forced his way a hundred miles inland to a place of security. But his

people had no farms, and no means of raising food in these wild mountain

regions, and the provisions they had taken from the Rifleman were used

in a few months.





Poverty Bay Massacre. Then, roused to madness by hunger, of which

some of them had died, they crept cautiously back to the Poverty Bay

district. Falling at night upon the little village, they slaughtered

men, women, and children, as well as all the quiet Maoris they could

catch. The dawn woke coldly on a silent village, wherein fifty or sixty

bodies lay gashed and mangled in their beds, or at their doors, or upon

their garden paths. An old man and a boy escaped by hiding. After taking

all the provisions out of the place, Te Kooti set fire to the houses and

retreated to the hills, where, on the top of a peak 2,000 feet high, he

had made a pah called Ngatapa, which was defended on every side by

precipices and deep gorges. There was only one narrow approach, and that

had been fortified with immense care. The colonial troops under Colonel

Whitmore, and bodies of friendly Maoris under Ropata, attacked him here.

The work was very difficult, for after climbing those precipitous hills

there were two palisades to be carried, one seven feet high and the

other twelve. But science prevailed. After great exertions and appalling

dangers the place was captured by Ropata, who climbed the cliffs and

gained a corner of the palisades, killing a great number of Te Kooti's

men in the action. During the night the rest escaped from the pah,

sliding from the cliffs by means of ropes. But in the morning they were

chased, and for two days the fugitives were brought back to the pah in

twos and threes. Ropata took it for granted that they were all concerned

in the massacre at Poverty Bay. Each of the captives as he arrived was

stripped, taken to the edge of the cliff, shot dead, and his body thrown

over. About a hundred and twenty were thus slaughtered. But Te Kooti

himself escaped, and for the next two years he lived the life of a

hunted animal, chased through the gloomy forests by the relentless

Ropata. He fought many fights; his twenty Hau Hau followers were often

near to death from starvation; but at length wearied out he threw

himself on the mercy of the white men, was pardoned, sunk into

obscurity, and died in peace.



War was not really at an end till 1871; as up to that date occasional

skirmishes took place. But there never was any fear of a general rising

of the Maoris after 1866.





Progress of New Zealand. These wars were confined to the North

Island. Otago, Canterbury, and Nelson felt them only by way of increased

taxes. Otherwise they were left in peace to pursue their quiet progress.

They multiplied their population sixfold; they opened up the country

with good roads; a railway was cut through the mountain to join

Christchurch with its seaport, Lyttelton, by a tunnel half a mile long.

A similar but easier railway was made to join Dunedin to Port Chalmers;

gold was found in various parts, especially in Otago, and on the west

coast round Hokitika. For a time New Zealand sent out gold every year to

the value of two and a half million pounds, and this lucrative pursuit

brought thousands of stout settlers to her shores.






In 1864 the New Zealand Parliament chose Wellington to be the capital of

the colony, as being more central than Auckland. In 1868 an Act was

passed to abolish the provinces, and to make New Zealand more completely

a united colony. A great change began in this same year, when the first

Maori chief was elected to be a member of the New Zealand Parliament.

Before long there were six Maoris seated there, two of them being in

the Upper House. These honourable concessions, together with a fairer

treatment in regard to their land, did much to show the Maoris that

their lives and liberties were respected by the white men. They had lost

much land, but what was left was now of more use to them than the whole

had formerly been. Their lives and their property were now safer than

ever, and they learnt that to live as peaceful subjects of Queen

Victoria was the happiest course they could follow. The Government built

schools for them and sent teachers; it built churches for them and cared

for them in many ways. Thus they became well satisfied, even if they

sometimes remembered with regret the freer life of the olden times.



But Sir George Grey, who was the warm friend of the Maori, was no longer

Governor. He had finished his work and his term of office had expired.

Sir George Bowen came out to take his place. Grey after a trip to

England returned to take up his residence in New Zealand, and a few

years later allowed himself to be elected a member of its Parliament.

Subsequently he became its Prime Minister, sinking his own personal

pride in his desire to do good to the country.



From 1870 to 1877 the affairs of the country were chiefly directed by

ministries in which Sir Julius Vogel was the principal figure. He

started and carried out a bold policy of borrowing and spending the

money so obtained in bringing out fresh settlers and in opening up the

land by railways. This plan plunged the colony deeply into debt, but it

changed the look of the place, and although it had its dangers and its

drawbacks, it has done a great deal for the colony. At first the natives

refused to let the railways pass through their districts, but in 1872 a

great meeting of chiefs agreed that it would be good for all to have the

country opened up. Some maintained a dull hostility till 1881, but all

the same the railways were made, until at length 2,000 miles were open

for traffic.



Between 1856 and 1880 nineteen different ministries managed the affairs

of New Zealand, one after the other, the same Prime Minister however

presiding over different ministries. The most notable of these have

been, Sir William Fox, Edward W. Stafford, Major Atkinson, and Sir

Julius Vogel.



In 1880 the colony had increased to 500,000 white people, owning

12,000,000 sheep and exporting nearly L6,000,000 worth of goods. The

Maoris were 44,000, but while the whites were rapidly increasing, the

Maoris were somewhat decreasing. They had 112,000 sheep and nearly

50,000 cattle, with about 100,000 pigs.



The heavy expenditure of the borrowing years from 1870 to 1881 was

followed by a time of depression from 1880 to 1890, during which Sir

Robert Stout and Major Atkinson were Prime Ministers; but at the end

of that period the colony began rapidly to recover. Its population

approached 750,000, with 42,000 Maoris; its sheep were nearly 20,000,000

in number; and its farms produced 20,000,000 bushels of wheat and oats.

It sent L4,000,000 worth of wool to England, and about L1,000,000 worth

of frozen meat. The general history of the last twenty years may be

summed up as consisting of immense progress in all material and social

interests.