464 ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chap. XVII- 
much less of explaining it to the natives. It was ob- 
vious, from these considerations, that the framers of 
the Treaty purposed to bind the natives to conditions 
which there were not even the words to convey. 
And, on the other hand, they accepted of aignaturcn 
from those who could not know to what they were 
putting their hands, and professed to the White set- 
tlers to have procured a valid adhesion to the com- 
pact. 
The Treaty, thus obtained, was overridden by the 
Governor and his deputy before it was completed. 
On the 25th of April, Captain Hobson despatched 
Major Bunbury, in the Queen's ship Herald, " to such 
" places as you may deem most desirable for establishing 
" her Majesty's authority throughout these islands — 
" namely, that which is called Stewart's Island, Middle 
" Island, (marked on the charts Tavai Poenamoo,) 
" and such part of the Northern Islands as may not 
" already have been ceded to the Queen." Major Bun- 
bury soon dispensed with the preliminary form of 
obtaining signatures to the treaty. He landed in a 
harbour of the Southern Island, on the 4th of June ; 
and not meeting with any inhabitants there, he on 
the 5th, " in the probability of not meeting any 
" natives, deemed it advisable the same day to proclaim 
" the Queen's authority over the islands ; for which 
" purpose, a party of marines were landed from the 
" ship, and the usual forms complied with." The de- 
claration of sovereignty attributes the title of the 
Crown to Captain Cook's discovery. Subsequently, 
^lajor Bunbury obtained the signatures of a very few 
chiefs, not head chiefs, on the Middle Island ; and on 
the 17th of June he proclaimed the British sove- 
reignty. It is true, the official declaration bears the 
words " having been ceded in sovereignty by the 
