HISTORICAL REVIEW OF NEIT ZEALAXJ*. 



1049 



own village. He was coldly received, and rudely refused access to the Governor's 

 presence by some subordinate official, while his application for a loan to erect a flour- 

 mill was not entertained by the Native Secretary. Hitherto he had not identified himself 

 with the "king movement," though he was known to be favourable to it, but on "his 

 return to the Waikato he issued the following circular: "February i2th, 1857. To all 

 Waikato. This is the agreement of Ngatihaua for Potatau to be king of New Zealand. 

 Friends Our desire is great that Potatau should be set up in this very year. Do not 

 delay. Hasten the assembling of the runangas. Hasten the establishment of the scheme, 

 and when it is done the documents will be collected, and the day will be fixed for 

 instituting him. Be speedy. You will write to 

 the remote tribes that they may hear. From 

 \Yiremu (Tamihana) Tarapipipi and all Ngatihaua 

 to Waikato, to Kereihi, Pukewau, Harapata, Toma, 

 Ruihana, Waata Tengatete. Be speedy." 



The choice of Te Wherowhero as sovereign 

 was politic. He did not aspire to be proclaimed 

 king, but offered to act as arbitrator in land dis- 

 putes. Tamihana was resolved to overcome the 

 old chiefs scruples, and the Waikato tribes were 

 therefore summoned to meet at Rangiriri in April, 

 1857, to install their King. Recognizing the 

 political importance of this gathering, Governor 

 Brown made up his mind to attend it, and 

 accordingly set out for the Waikato, accompanied 

 by Mr. McLean, the Native Secretary, and Mr. 

 Richmond, a Member of the Cabinet. He arrived 



at Rangiriri simultaneously with Te Wherowhero. In the latter's presence the leading chiefs 

 made speeches to the Governor. They asked for rnuaugas, a European magistrate, and 

 laws. In reply the Governor promised to send a magistrate to reside in the \Vaikato for 

 the purpose of periodically visiting the various settlements, and, with the assistance of the 

 native assessors, of administering justice. He also promised to cause a code of laws, ap- 

 plicable to native requirements, to be framed. The people waved their hats and cried 

 " Hurrah." Te Wherowhero announced that he would be guided by the advice of the 

 Governor. His Excellency returned to Auckland convinced that he had settled the "king 

 movement," and Mr. F. D. Fenton, a well-known solicitor, was appointed Resident Magistrate 

 of Waikato and Waipa, in fulfillment of his promise. But the mind of the Governor and 

 that of the chiefs had been travelling on different lines. He regarded his offers in the 

 light of a substitute for the "king project." They, on the other hand, accepted them 

 evidently as a complement to it, for they saw nothing incompatible between the procla- 

 mation of their own nationality under a Maori king, and the continuance of the Queen's 

 supremacy over the colony. Many of the Europeans holding responsible positions in the 

 colony were of a like opinion ; while others regarded the " king movement " as abso- 

 lutely inconsistent with the Queen's sovereignty. 



After the Governor's return to Auckland, the meeting at Rangiriri proceeded. The 



TE \V HERO W HERO. 



