46S ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEAIAND. Chap. XVII. 
"tainship." Kawanatanga is an adaptation of the 
same rule to the word Kawana, which had itself 
been coined from the English "Governor;" and there- 
fore it is truly rendered by " Governorship." But the 
natives could have had, at the time of the Treaty, only 
very vague ideas as to the meaning of the English 
word "Governor" which they nearly pronounced. 
In the Treaty itself, they were told that Hopihona 
was a Kavmna. Without very full explanation, Ka- 
wanatanga must therefore have represented to their 
ideas neither more nor less than " Hobsonnesa.' Even 
to this day, in Cook's Strait, where the Governor 
has rarely been seen, the natives invariably call every 
Police Magistrate and the Land Commissioner, Ka- 
wana; and the Protectors of Aborigines, Kawatiaa 
for the Maori, 
Fully to understand the value of this contract, the 
circumstances under which it was procured must be 
kept in view. Captain Hobson's commission was read 
at Kororarika, in the Bay of Islands, on the 30th of 
January, the day of his arrival. On the 5th of 
February, he presented the Treaty to an assembly of 
the natives of the Bay of Islands ; and on the 6th 
it was signed by 46 chiefs. On the 12th, he met 
the natives of the Hokianga j and 56 more chiefs 
signed the treaty. In March, Mr. Shortland, Captain 
Symonds, and four missionaries, were appointed to 
secure the adherence of the chiefs of the northern 
islands to the treaty. One of the missionaries de- 
puted his colleague, Mr. Chapman, and the master 
of a coasting trader, named Fedarb, to obtain signa- 
tures. Copies of the Treaty were thus dispersed 
about the Northern Island. Some of the chiefs re- 
fused to sign it ; but at last, between the 6th of 
February and the 3rd of September, 512 signatures 
