An Election Discussion Paper, 2017

To:      All Members of Parliament.

From:  The One New Zealand Foundation Inc. Email: ONZF@bigpond.com.au.

“Government Ignores Constitutional Charter”

By Ross Baker, One New Zealand Foundation Inc. 1/2/2017. Copyright.

 

There is no excuse for the government and people such as Attorney General, Hon Christopher Finlayson and Leading Constitutional Lawyer Sir Geoffrey Palmer, the man trusted to write a new Constitution ignoring Queen Victoria’s Royal Charter/Letters Patent dated the 16 November 1840. Surely they are not that ignorant of how New Zealand separated from New South Wales and became an independent British Colony with its own political, legal and justice systems. They must know the Treaty of Waitangi only placed New Zealand under the laws and dependency of New South Wales from the 21 May 1840 until the 3 May 1841, just 12 months!

 “Ignorance is no excuse for committing an unlawful act!”

The Government, including Te Papa and our new Governor General, Dame Patsy Reddy should know better than to refer to the Treaty of Waitangi as our “Founding Document” and “A partnership between Maori and the Crown”. Te Papa, our National Museum refusing to display Queen Victoria’s Royal Charter.

While the Treaty of Waitangi gave Britain sovereignty over all the islands of New Zealand and tangata Maori, “the same rights as the people of England”, it was not our “Founding Document”. It was an “agreement”, not a “partnership” between tangata Maori and Queen Victoria.

Queen Victoria and/or Lt. Governor Hobson did not have the power or authority to give tangata Maori any special rights or privileges in the Treaty of Waitangi not already enjoyed by all the people of England, and none were given.

After each tangata Maori chief signed the Treaty of Waitangi on the 6^th February 1840 at Waitangi, Lt. Governor Hobson shook their hand and repeated the words “He iwi tahi tatou – We are now one people”. Tangata Maori became British Subjects and British Subjects cannot be in “partnership” with the Queen or the Monarchy.

The Treaty of Waitangi placed New Zealand under the laws and dependency of New South Wales on the 21 May 1840, therefore was not our “Founding Document”.

At the time the Treaty of Waitangi was being signed, Britain had no idea of whether it would gain sovereignty over the whole country or only parts of the country, therefore, Britain could not make any formal plans of how Britain would rule New Zealand until Britain knew the results of the Treaty, so temporarily place New Zealand under the laws and dependency of New South Wales.

Once Britain confirmed over 500 North Island chiefs had signed the Treaty, sovereignty over the North Island was declare by Treaty and over the South Island by discovery as virtually the whole of the South Island had been sold before the Treaty was signed by the South Island chiefs travelling to New South Wales to find buys. Over 700 Deeds of Sale still remain in the New South Wales Supreme Court.

On the 21 May 1840 when Britain declared sovereignty over all the island of New Zealand and tangata Maori had become British Subjects, the Tiriti o Waitangi had served its purpose and was filed away as it was of no further use except as an historic document.

The 1975 Treaty of Waitangi Act dragged it out of storage and has continually allowed its translation to be distorted to give Maori special rights and privileges over their fellow New Zealand Citizens never intended by those that signed it in 1840. The Waitangi Tribunal allowing the Treaty to be interpreted to make it fit the claim before it to succeed.

Academics such as Dr Margaret Mutu, Professor of Māori Studies at the University of Auckland, have continued to distort the translation of the Tiriti o Waitangi to benefit Maori only until they have completely destroyed a once noble language. To tamper with a document of National importance must surely be fraud.

Once Britain declare sovereignty over all the islands of New Zealand, which has never been challenged by any other country, all the people of New Zealand came under the laws of New South Wales until the 3 May 1841 when the Royal Charter made New Zealand into a British Colony and all the people of New Zealand came under the laws of New Zealand.

The Treaty cannot be breached as it made no laws, it made tangata Maori British Subjects, “with the same rights as the people of England”, under one flag and one law. The Treaty was unique to New Zealand as it gave tangata Maori, “the same rights as the people of England” without so much as lifting a finger.

The only claims Maori have against the Crown are either alleged breaches of the laws of New South Wales or New Zealand, which should only be heard under normal court procedure, not by the apartheid Waitangi Tribunal that interprets and twists the Treaty to make sure the claim is successful.

The Treaty of Waitangi was never intended to be our “Founding Document”, it was solely to find out whether tangata Maori would give up their sovereignty to Britain and become British Subjects under British rule. Over 500 tangata Maori chiefs signed their names or their marks for them and their people to become British Subjects under British rule of one flag and one law.

From 21 May 1840 until the 16 November 1840, the British Parliament debated whether to leave New Zealand under the dependency of New South Wales or become a separated British Colony with its own Governor and Constitution to form a government. This could only be established by Royal Charter.

On the 3 May 1841, Queen Victoria’s Royal Charter/Letters Patent dated the 16 November 1840 separated New Zealand from New South Wales with a Governor and Constitution to form a government under one flag and one law, irrespective of race, colour or creed.

Queen Victoria’s Royal Charter/Letters Patent is held in the Constitution Room at Archive New Zealand under the title, “ACGO83411A19R21434434. Charter of 1840. Constitution of the Colony of New Zealand into a separate colony. 16 November 1840”. See below.

The Constitution of the Colony of New Zealand was our true “Founding Document” and first “Constitution” as it separated New Zealand from New South Wales and made New Zealand into an independent British Colony with a Governor and Constitution to form a government to make laws with courts and judges to enforce those laws.

The government, its agencies and Te Papa our National Museum have for some reason deliberately keep Queen Victoria’s Royal Charter/Letters Patent from the People of New Zealand, completely ignoring it in favour of the Treaty of Waitangi. But in so doing have racially divided the People of New Zealand into Maori and non-Maori that was never intended by those that signed the Treaty in 1840 with the words, “He iwi tahi tatou – We are now one people”.

Without Queen Victoria’s Royal Charter/Letters Patent, New Zealand would have remained under the laws and dependency of New South Wales without a “Founding Document” or its own “Constitution”, but the British Parliament decided to separate New Zealand from New South Wales and make New Zealand into an independent British Colony on the 3 May 1841. The day we must all honour and celebrate with pride, the day we became an “Independent Colony”.

It is now over to the People of New Zealand, both Maori and non-Maori that they honour our ancestors wish in 1840 to become one people under one flag and one law, “He iwi tahi tatou – We are now one people”. Not allow a few self-appointed Maori leaders and a past Governor General, the Rev Sir Paul Reeves threaten the government with violence and/or a civil war if Maori did not get their own way, which was aired on the ABC TV Four Corners Programme called “Trick or Treaty” screened in Australia on the 5 March 1990.

The Governor General is the Queens Representative in New Zealand. They are responsible in giving Her Majesty’s Royal Assent to Bills for the Bills to become Acts of Parliament, but with racial comments like this and our new Governor General having no idea of New Zealand true history, no wonder we have and will continue to have, racial problems in New Zealand.

All New Zealand’s laws had to be in accordance with the Constitution provided by Queen Victoria’s Royal Charter and examined and approved by the British Parliament, but without the government recognising Queen Victoria’s Royal Charter as our true Founding Document and first Constitution, it has continued to give Maori special rights and privileges over all others citizens never intended by the Treaty of Waitangi or Queen Victoria’s Royal Charter.

Maori today refer to their ancestors as “tangata whenua” but over 500 chief that signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 signed it as “tangata Maori” because they knew they were not the “tangata whenua” or the “Indigenous People of New Zealand”.

It is unbelievable how governments have continued down this path without acknowledging Queen Victoria’s Royal Charter. This can only be taken as a criminal act by those involved that should have known better.

“Ignorance is no excuse for committing an unlawful act!”

Governments have lead New Zealand “down the garden path” to end up where we are today, “A complete bloody shambles” that must be sorted out by first recognising and adopting the Royal Charter as New Zealand’s true Founding Document and first Constitution.

The Treaty of Waitangi had nothing to do with making New Zealand into a British Colony with a Governor and Constitution to set up our political, legal and justice systems, it was only an agreement between the Queen and tangata Maori that gave sovereignty of New Zealand to Britain and made Maori British Subjects with the “Same rights as the people of England”, no more, no less!

After the  21 May 1840 New Zealand and its People were under the laws and dependency of New South Wales until the 3 May 1841 when Queen Victoria’s Royal Charter gave New Zealand its own political, legal and justice systems under one flag and one law, irrespective of race, colour or creed, but under the watchful eye of Great Britain.

In 1947 we adopted the Statute of Westminster which granted full sovereign powers to New Zealand in domestic as well as foreign affairs with all the people of New Zealand becoming New Zealand Citizens under one flag and one law, irrespective of race, colour or creed.

 

Queen Victoria’s Royal Charter/Letters Patent dated the 16 November 1840.

 

Queen Victoria’s Royal Charter/Letters Patent dated the 16 November 1840 is held in the Constitution Room at Archive New Zealand, Wellington with Governor Hobson’s Final Draft dated the 4 February 1840 and the 7 copies of the Tiriti o Waitangi that were signed by Lt. Governor Hobson and over 500 tangata Maori chiefs in 1840.

 

There is also one copy of a CMS printed Tiriti o Waitangi authorised by Lt. Governor Hobson that was read and discussed at Waikato because the “official” copy of the Tiriti o Waitangi had not arrived and the first 5 Waikato tangata Maori chiefs signed this copy and had it witnessed by Rev Robert Maunsell.

 

Unfortunately, space ran out on the CMF printed copy and another 39 chiefs signed an unauthorised English version of the Treaty that had been compiled by Hobson’s secretary, James Freeman from James Busby’s early draft notes that Robert Mausell must have had on hand. These 2 documents were to be treated as one. One, the “office” copy that was read and discussed at Waikato and the other, just to hold the overflow of signatures when the CMS printed copy could hold no more signatures

 

When the Waikato Tiriti o Waitangi was handed into Lt. Governor Hobson to be signed, it was record that 44 signatures had been collected at Waikato, 5 on the authorised CMS printed copy and 39 on Freeman’s unauthorised English version.

 

Lt. Governors Hobson’s signature on Freeman’s unauthorised English copy is either a forgery or was signed when Hobson was extremely ill with a stroke when he would have had no idea of what he was signing. Lt. Governor Hobson never made or authorised an English version of the Treaty to be signed by the tangata Maori chiefs, stating, “All signatures that are subsequently obtained are merely testimonials of adherence to the terms of that original document”. That document being, the Tiriti o Waitangi signed at Waitangi on the 6 February 1840”.

 

We must all honour and celebrate with pride Queen Victoria’s Royal Charter on the 3 May every year as our “Independence Day”. The day we became one people under one flag and one law, irrespective of race, colour or creed. “He iwi tahi tatou – We are now one people”.

 

For further information, www.onenzfoundation.co.nz or onzf@bigpond.com.au

 

 

 

Disc of the Constitutional Charter of New Zealand supplied by the Chief Archivist, Archives New Zealand.

               Supplied by: The One New Zealand Foundation Inc.

For further information contact: onzf@bigpond.com.au