NEW ZEALAND 



and his council had to deal with was the land question. 

 Under the Treaty the Crown had the first right of purchase 

 from the Maoris. The justice or injustice of the claims of 

 pretended purchasers from the natives was in every case 

 inquired into very carefully and right was done as far as 

 possible. The New Zealand Company's claim was cut 

 down from 20 millions to 283,000 acres. 



Governor Hobson died September loth, 1843, He had 

 done his very best under most trying circumstances and 

 was universally re.spected. 



Among the important factors in the early history of 

 New Zealand, a leading place must be assigned to the ideas 

 and doings of Gibbon Wakefield, the founder of the colony 

 and George Grey its greatest Governor, author of its con- 

 stitution and pioneer leader of what is called the lyiberal 

 movement. 



Gibbon Wakefield established the system and organ- 

 ized and directed the company under the auspices of which 

 three quarters of New Zealand was colonized. His domi- 

 nant idea was " scientific colonization '* careful selection of 

 emigrants, inducements to laborers and capitalists to go to 

 the new country in organized groups and sale of the land 

 under free selection at a uniform " sufficient price" that 

 is, a substantial price .sufficient to prevent speculation and 

 secure close settlement diversification of industry and 

 funds for emigration and public works. Instead of making 

 colonists out of convicts and treating a colony as a sort of 

 vacant lot cm which to dump the refuse and waste of older 

 countries, Wakefield believed in choosing colonists morally 

 and physically worthy to be the founders of a new common- 

 wealth. In those parts of the colony where he operated 

 tlie high character of the settlert, the rarity of crime, the 

 good standard of education, the evidences of intelligence 

 and even of refinement have always been obvious enough 

 to strike even very hasty observers. In an evil hour 

 however, Captain Fitzroy, the second Governor waived 



