Te Tiriti O Waitangi- essay written by Charles Hardy
- Greg Austen
- Jan 23, 2019
- 2 min read
Charles Hardy frequently wrote letters to newspaper editors and demonstrated an amazing way with words combined with a sharp intellect which he applied to important issues of the time. For example in 1862 he wrote a long letter to the Los Angeles Star about relations between America and England. This will be covered in a later blog.
In his essay published in New Zealand in 1887 Charles commented at length on the matter of The Treaty of Waitangi. He expressed his views regarding the ownership of Maori land. In particular he contended that the Native Land Courts did not act in a lawful manner. He emphasised that Maori Land ownership needed to be looked at from a Maori point of view in that land title was held tribally not individually. Furthermore the Treaty was made between the Queen, her Imperial Government and the Maori chiefs of New Zealand, therefore the Colonial Government of New Zealand was acting illegally in dividing up Maori land through the Native Land Courts.
A short extract from the essay reads;
"Where is the honour and courage which once made the British nation the envy and admiration of the world? Let England reject the righteous prayer of the Maoris, let her repudiate the Treaty of Waitangi, and she will brand herself with an infamy which she can never erase.
The Maoris ask, with the forces of reason and with the majesty of justice, that the Treaty of Waitangi be honourably kept by the Imperial Government of England. "
A poem follows the above and ends with;
Oh God! stretch forth Thy might arm to save
From cruel grave this forlorn Maori race,
Exert Thy power, exalt and reinstate
This people to that height whence Israel fell.
This essay was printed and published by Sir Henry Brett. Sir Henry was the owner of the Auckland Evening Star, a publisher, writer and Auckland City Councillor and Mayor. Charles essay was published in both Maori and English with each version in parallel columns.
Copies of Charles essay are held in the Auckland Public Library special collections area and at Victoria University in Wellington.
The link below will take you to a full copy of Charles' essay
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