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Introduction:
Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Treaty of Waitangi are documents that have had a
colourful history. They are documents that conjure up controversial memories and
cause the blood to rush into the hearts and minds of many people.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the document that is argued about today in the Courts of
“Pākehā” law. It is this document that Mäori turn to when any problems arise through
the variations of translation that come about when two languages are involved.
The Treaty of Waitangi is the tool of the Pākehā. It is the document that is popularly
described as “the founding document of New Zealand”. It is also the document that
most Pākehā commentators quote from when any issues concerning Mäori arise.
This paper will look at these two documents, providing a bit of background on the
circumstances surrounding their creation, before turning to the words that are
contained within these two documents.
The scholarship of the writer/s will be mentioned in a small way before providing an
analysis of the content within these documents.
It is the intention of the writer to provide, for future readers, an opinion on what these
documents contain and how they impact on Mäori Society and New Zealand Society
as a whole.
Settlers had come to this country under the illusion that there was land to spare for all
men, and that Aotearoa was the new “land of milk and honey”. The tangata whenua
had other ideas though, and fought to ensure that these newcomers did not cross the
line when it came to tikanga a rohe.
Due to the troubles that brewed in a little town called Kororareka, it was decided that
“Law and Order” needed to come to this land, to deal with what has been described as
“the scourge of the Pacific”, the whalers, sealers and other undesirables whom lived
under their own rules. Petitions were written to the “Great Leader” of these people,
King George IV, asking that he deal with these people. His reply was the sending of a
British Resident aptly known as “he manawa pu kore”i or a Man o’ war without guns,
James Busby. It was to him the tangata whenua turned to in times of troubles with
these people. Due to the troubles that continued, and further entreaties, another man
was sent, Captain Hobson, to be Lieutenant Governor of the “infant State” and bring
Law & Order to the lawless.
The greatest test of his fluency prior to Te Tiriti o Waitangi was his translating of
“He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Niu Tirani” or “A Declaration of
Independence of Niu Tirani”
Scholarship:
Language:
The language contained within Te Tiriti o Waitangi seems to be of an immature type,
judging by works that have survived from this period. This could be due to the fact
that Henry Williams was a second language learner, he taking lessons from local
Mäori or from the local missionaries that populated the districts surrounding
Waitangi, or it could be because of a darker, more sinister notion was afoot. The
knowledge that the correct or more appropriate wording would turn what could be
termed as a successful meeting of two nations into a rebuff from which the British
Empire could not possibly return seems to have been a factor. Williams, by his own
admission, was quite fluent in Te Reo, and in what has been termed “Constitutional
Mäori having translated the Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Niu Tirani just five
years before.
Content:
Within this document is the statements outlining the relationship between Mäori of
Aotearoa and the Queen of England. This relationship included the giving up or
ceding of Governorship of the land to the Queen of England, with the proviso that
they still retained their sovereigntyiv. This is mentioned in the lines:
“ Ko nga Rangatira o te wakaminenga me nga Rangatira katoa hoki kihai i uru ki
taua wakaminenga ka tuku rawa atu ki te Kuini o Ingarangi ake tonu atu te
kawanagatanga katoa o o ratou wenua”v
“ The Chiefs of (i.e. constituting) the Assembly, and all of the Chiefs who are
absent from the Assembly, shall cede to the Queen of England for ever the
government of all their lands.”vi
“Ko te Kuini o Ingarani ka wakarite ka wakaae ki nga Rangatira ki nga hapu ki nga
tangata katoa o Niu Tirani te tino Rangatiratanga o o ratou wenua o ratou kainga me
o ratou taonga katoa…”vii
The Queen of England acknowledges and guarantees to the Chiefs, the Tribes,
and all the people of New Zealand, the entire supremacy of their lands, their
settlements, and of their personal property…”viii
The signatures are arranged in three columns with margins provided to take the
attestations of the witnesses. All in all, a succinctly laid out document.
There has been some argument about his skills to actually write such an important
document, and mention is always made of his lack of administrative experience
because prior to his appointment as British Resident, he was a Collector of Internal
Revenue and a member of the Land Board of New South Wales. But whatever the
argument on his appropriateness, it was his draft that became the official version.
Scholarship:
Language:
The language used within the Treaty of Waitangi is of a type expected for such an
important document. The convention of legal writing has been held to and is well
written in context for the times. To use the same language today would probably
cause discussion, it being a little patronising in its tone, but again for the times this
was acceptable and in fact was expected.
Content:
Structure & Layout:
Again this document is laid out in simple terms, with a preamble and three distinctive
articles, that are easy to read and thus are simple to understand. The fourth article that
speaks of the Governor protecting the religions of Rome, England and “ritenga
Mäori” or Mäori belief systems is not mentioned at all.
The signatures are arranged in three columns with margins provided to take the
attestations of the witnesses. Again, a succinct and well laid out document.
According to official records The Treaty of Waitangi contains only 39 signatures or
marks of ngā Rangatira Maori, these being garnered from Rangatira at Manakau
Harbour, because the Māori text was unavailable.
Conclusion:
The words of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and The Treaty of Waitangi will always conjure up
controversy. This is because they are written in two different languages and are seen
from two different viewpoints. The principle of Contra-proferentum takes care of one
problem, that being the language, but what of the other? What will take care of the
differing viewpoints?
Bibliography:
Moon, P & Fenton, S Bound into a fateful union: Henry Williams’ translation
of the Treaty of Waitangi into Mäori in February 1840
Publisher unknown, presumably J.P.S. 2002