Dr Paul Moon – half the treaty – half the truth!
While Governor Hobson achieved all this with only a few years formal education, highly educated Dr Paul Moon can’t even count the number of clauses or sentences in our Tiriti o Waitangi! This explains why Dr Moon and other academics get it so wrong when discussing the Treaty.

13 January 2010.
Paul Moon: Hope for watershed in new Treaty era

Dr Paul Moon is Professor of History at AUT University, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
Posted by karere under Maori News

In the lead-up to Waitangi Day, Paul Moon looks at the state of the Treaty in the 21st century.

Four sentences. That’s it. The Treaty of Waitangi comprises a preamble and three articles, each of which is just one sentence long. Admittedly, these sentences are fulsome and ponderous – probably because the authors, William Hobson and James Busby, thought they would try to mimic the writing of lawyers when they put quill to paper in the first few days of February 1840 to draft what was about to become the Treaty of Waitangi. Although we cannot know for certain, it is reasonable to assume that before leaving Sydney for the Bay of Islands in January 1840, a local official pressed into Hobson’s hands a few samples of existing treaties to help him with the constitutional task ahead of him. Having left school before the age of 10, perhaps they thought that this soon-to-be governor could do with all the assistance he could get. The result of a few days spent drafting the agreement by Hobson and Busby (and possibly others) was that New Zealand ended up with a Treaty that contains passages from the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, the 1825 British Sherbo Agreement and the 1826 Treaty between Britain and Soombia Soosoos, among others.
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Comment by Ross Baker | January 14th, 2010 at 6:27 pm

Four sentences. That’s it. A preamble and three articles. This explains why Dr Paul Moon and other academics get it so wrong when discussing the Treaty. The Treaty consists of eight sentences! A Preamble, Three Articles and the Consent from the chiefs, but most importantly, which version and where it was executed! “Done at Waitangi on the 6 February 1840”. The Tiriti o Waitangi was the only version executed, “at Waitangi on the 6 February 1840”.

The Preamble. The first sentence explained why the need for a treaty and that the Queen was desirous to negotiate to set up a government to bring protection to both the Maori and the Europeans living in New Zealand or yet to come. The second sentence explained that the Queen had sent Captain William Hobson to be Governor to those parts of New Zealand given up/ceded now or at a later date to the Queen, under the following articles/laws.

First Article. The chiefs must give up their government/sovereignty to the Queen forever.
Second Article. The first sentence stated the Queen guarantees the Chiefs and tribes (Maori) and to all the people of New Zealand (all others) the possession of their lands, dwellings and property. The second sentence stated; Maori could only sell their land to the Government if they wished.

Third Article. If the Maoris of New Zealand consented to the above, they would be given the same rights as the people of England – no more – no less.

Consent. In the first sentence the chief understood and agreed to the Treaty and its Articles. The second sentence stated that the Treaty was the version executed, “Done at Waitangi on the 6 February 1840” – Te Tiriti o Waitangi – Governor Hobson stating, “all other signatories are testimonials of this original document”.

James Busby did try to mimic the writings of a lawyer in his 3 February draft but Hobson found this to be too long and complicated to be understood by the uneducated “natives” and re-wrote a much simpler “final draft” on the 4 February, which was translated into Maori by Rev Henry Williams and his son Edward and agreed to by 540 chiefs throughout New Zealand over the next few months.

As for Hobson leaving school at 10, he had been captain on ships in many conflicts over many years gaining a distinguished record and had been commissioned by the British Government to report on New Zealand’s affairs, then to negotiate for cession of sovereignty from the natives, which he very successfully did under extreme circumstances. He then started to bring law and order to a people that had been at war for hundreds of years with very few casualties on either side before his untimely death – a brilliant achievement.

While Governor Hobson achieved all this with only a few years formal education, highly educated Dr Paul Moon can’t even count the number of clauses or sentences in our Tiriti o Waitangi!