Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without the permission of the Author. The Paradox of Maori Privilege: Historical Constructions of Maori Privilege circa 1769 to 1940. A thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand. Peter N. Meihana 2015 ABSTRACT ~ Today Maori are thought, by some, to be a privileged people. Not only are they considered to have been treated better than other Native peoples, it is also argued that they receive benefits that other New Zealanders do not. This thesis explores the ‘idea’ of Maori privilege. It argues that the notion of Maori privilege is not limited to the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries; rather, it has a ‘venerable’ history the origins of which can be dated back to the eighteenth-century. The main argument of the thesis is that the notion of Maori privilege was central to colonisation in New Zealand. The thesis focuses primarily on the period between 1769 and 1940. It identifies significant points in the development of the concept of Maori privilege, beginning with the arrival of James Cook in 1769. As a result of the Cook voyages Maori were again made known to Europe through their incorporation into European systems of knowledge. Consequently, Maori were ‘intellectually’ privileged, that is, they were deemed to be a certain type of savage, one worthy of protection. The Treaty of Waitangi was also widely cited as an important example of Maori privilege. For Britain, the treaty was, first and foremost, the means by which it acquired sovereignty over New Zealand and its people. It was reasoned that with colonisation taking place Maori interests would be best protected under English law; moreover, it was only by relinquishing their sovereignty that they could enjoy such a ‘privilege’. From 1840 the Crown looked to discharge its Treaty of Waitangi obligations. This thesis is primarily concerned with the way in which the Crown implemented article three, under which Maori were afforded the rights and privileges of British subjects. While given less prominence in scholarly analyses of the treaty than articles one and two, it was article three that increasingly framed the Crown’s native policy. In the 100 years following the signing of the treaty, Government policies swung between extending ‘royal protection’ to Maori, while purportedly ensuring they received the ‘rights and privileges of British subjects’. The thesis divides Maori privilege into two interconnected categories. ‘Official’ privilege refers to Crown policy or initiatives that ostensibly protected Maori. The i second category, ‘populist’ privilege, refers to the discourse which framed any protective measures as unreasonably granting Maori rights over and above those afforded to European settlers. Furthermore, ‘populist’ privilege asserted that Crown initiatives aimed at protecting Maori, were, in fact, disadvantageous to them because their interests, so it was held, were best served through their adoption of European customs, laws and beliefs. No matter the policy of the day it was framed as a ‘privilege’. As this thesis will demonstrate, however, policies that purported to protect Maori still resulted in the alienation of their lands and their political and economic marginalisation. Even the very limited gains Maori may occasionally have secured elicited claims of ‘populist’ privilege and further contributed to Maori loss. Despite this, the view that Maori were an especially privileged people was, by 1940, deeply entrenched. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ~ I began this thesis in 2008–it is with great satisfaction that I am now able to express my gratitude to those people who have assisted me over the last six-and-half years. I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr Geoff Watson and Professor Michael Belgrave. I have appreciated their professionalism and the pragmatic way in which they have approached the task. I would also like to thank my collegues in the School of Humanities, and in particular, Associate Professor Kerry Taylor, for allowing me the opportunity to participate in the life of the School. This certainly enriched the doctoral experience. During the writing of the thesis I discussed my ideas with numerous people, both within and outside of Massey University. Te Pouhere Korero (The Maori Historians Group), the Massey University New Zealand History Group, Te Ata Kura, Te Runanga o Ngati Kuia, and many of my fellow tribespeople, were all extremely generous with their time. Doctoral study can be an all encompassing activity, and one that can create gaps in other aspects of life. To those family members who took up the ‘slack’, my pah people, the Pinkers, and especially Rina, a sincere thanks to you. During the early stages of the thesis I received scholarships from Nga Pae o te Maramatanga and Te Mata o Te Tau for which I am grateful. Lastly, I would like to thank Tina Sheehan for her assistance in formatting the thesis. Peter N. Meihana June 2015 iii CONTENTS ~ Page ABSTRACT i–ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv–v ABBREVIATIONS vi INTRODUCTION 1 The ‘idea’ of Maori Privilege 2 The Rise of ‘Anti-Treatyism’ 11 Locating the ‘idea’ of Maori Privilege 16 CHAPTER ONE Maori Privilege: the pre-History 36 Part I: ‘Knowing’ the Natives 37 Part II: Identifying the Dots 45 Part III: Joining the Dots 53 CHAPTER TWO Privileged by Britishness 61 Part I: Privilege in the ‘Fragment’ 62 Part II: Rhetoric of Obligation 73 Part III: Rhetoric of Benevolence 81 CHAPTER THREE Privileged by Treaty 90 Part I: Addressing some Myths 91 Part II: The Privilege of British Sovereignty 95 Part III: Privilege in Practice 109 CHAPTER FOUR Article Three Fulfilled? 120 Part I: The Privilege of Protection 121 iv Part II: The Privilege of Private Property, 1852–1860 128 Part III: The Privilege of War 132 Part IV: The Privilege of Private Property, 1861–1865 135 Part V: The Privilege of Citizenship 140 CHAPTER FIVE The Privilege of Petitioning 148 Part I: The Right to Petition 149 Part II: Privilege and Paradox — The Privilege 151 Part III: Privilege and Paradox — The Paradox 161 CHAPTER SIX The Most Privileged People of All? 175 Part I: The Privilege of Protection: from chaos to order 177 Part II: The Privilege of Leasing 179 Part III: Towards the Privilege of Free Trade 188 Part IV: The Politics of Privilege 197 Part V: The Privilege of Paternalism 200 CHAPTER SEVEN Writing Privilege into History 207 Part I: Making Privilege 208 Part II: Using Privilege 217 Part III: Celebrating 100 years of Privilege 224 CONCLUSION & EPILOGUE Privilege Without End 230 Part I: 200 Years of Maori Privilege 232 Part II: Consolidating the Gains 238 BIBLIOGRAPHY 254 v ABBREVIATIONS ~ AJHR Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives BPP British Parliamentary Papers DNZB Dictionary of New Zealand Biography JPS Journal of the Polynesian Society NZJH New Zealand Journal of History NZPD New Zealand Parliamentary Debates vi INTRODUCTION ~ It is difficult to say exactly when the idea for this thesis first took root; indeed, there are a number of events, incidents, and issues that have lent some impetus to a study of Maori ‘privilege’. Most immediately, my involvement in the settlement of Ngati Kuia’s Treaty of Waitangi Claim,1 and, researching Ngati Kuia’s connection to the Foreshore and Seabed Claim2 raised questions about Maori privilege. Taking a slightly longer view, the early 1990s generated an interest in Maori–Crown relations generally. The Crown’s Fiscal Envelope policy, the ‘Sealords Deal’, ‘Moutoa Gardens’, the chainsaw attack on One Tree Hill, and, the release of the movie ‘Once Were Warriors’ all coincided with my exposure to academic critiques of colonisation. These alternative accounts included Ranginui Walker’s Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou: Struggle without End3 and Donna Awatere’s Maori Sovereignty.4 Both helped explain what was then taking place, and for me, then an undergraduate student, brought claims of Maori privilege to the fore. My interest in Maori privilege was also sparked by the 1995 publication of Stuart C. Scott’s Travesty of the Treaty.5 Scott’s book was not insignificant, indeed, within one year of publication Travesty had sold 18,000 copies in six print runs and was the subject of an episode of the current affairs show 60 Minutes.6 Scott wrote that ‘the British treated the Maoris as gentlemen, in stark contrast to the treatment meted out to, say, the North American Indians or the Australian Aborigines’.7 Scott further wrote: That the whole “pro-Maori” programme, beginning in 1975 and involving huge gifts and awards to Maori people, has been carried out by successive governments 1 Wai 785: Te Tau Ihu (Northern South Island) Inquiry; Ngati Kuia Claim Wai 561. 2 Peter Meihana, ‘From Anakoha to New York: The Genesis of the Foreshore and Seabed Claim and the Marginalisation of Ngati Kuia’, M.A. Thesis, Massey University, 2004. 3 Ranginui Walker, Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou–Struggle Without End, 2nd Edition, North Shore: Penguin Books, 2004. (First Published 1990) 4 Donna Awatere, Maori Sovereignty, Auckland: Broadsheet, 1984. 5 Stuart C. Scott, Travesty of the Treaty, Dunedin: The Campbell Press, 1995. 6 Stuart C. Scott, Travesty after Travesty, Christchurch: Certes Press, 1996, p. 8. 7 Stuart C. Scott, Travesty of the Treaty–Towards Anarchy, p.149. 1 without any reference to, or mandate from, the people of New Zealand generally, who are called upon to pay for this munificence.8 According to Scott, ‘all awards and gifts to the Maori represent money for nothing’.9 Before all of this, however, I was well aware that many in New Zealand held the view that Maori were in some way privileged, a view that did not correspond with my own life experience.