One of the latest books being read
Sunday, 19. February 2006, 21:10:08
THE LITTLEWOOD TREATY.
This is a brief of Martin's book.
http://www.treatyofwaitangi.net.nz/index.html
The original draft in English, on which Henry Williams
based this Maori translation has been found.
The Littlewood Treaty found in 1989 in private papers by
John Littlewood and his sister Beryl Needham.
By Martin Doutré
In the year 2000, shortly before paramount Nga-puhi Maori Chief, Sir Graham Rankin, passed away, he had a series of discussions, concerning Northern New Zealand history, with Allan Titford. One point that Sir Graham made was that the accepted and official English text for the Treaty of Waitangi is radically different from the Maori version in both wording and meaning. When Allan Titford showed Sir Graham Rankin a copy of “The Littlewood Treaty”, a hand written version of the treaty in English found by the Littlewood family of Manurewa, Auckland in 1989, Sir Graham commented that its wording was exactly the same in meaning as the Maori text wording.
It has always been a mystery to our treaty scholars that the two versions, Maori and official English, are so different, especially in view of the fact that the translators, Reverend Henry Williams and his son Edward Marsh Williams, were such expert linguists in the Maori language. Reverend Henry Williams had been a hard working missionary in New Zealand for 17-years when he undertook the translation. His son Edward, who had been virtually raised in a full Maori community, was considered to be a 'scholar par excellence in the Nga-puhi dialect' (see T.L. Buick, 1914, The Treaty of Waitangi, pg. 113).
The official English version has words like, Ireland, Australia, Dominion, Forests or Fisheries in it, which are conspicuous by their absence in the Maori version. It also makes no provision for anyone other than Maori and the rights of the tribe of Queen Victoria (Ngati-Wikitoria) go unmentioned.
The Maori version, by consequence, provides for the rights of “the chiefs and the tribes and for all the people of New Zealand”¼ “ki nga Rangatira ki nga hapu – ki nga tangata katoa o Nu Tirani” (Article II). Back translations of the Maori text since 1840 have always included, “and for all the people of New Zealand”.
New Zealand treaty scholars have been in very general agreement that the original draft wording, from which the Maori version of the treaty was created, went missing. Dr. Claudia Orange, amongst many others, writes, 'The original draft in English, on which Henry Williams based this Maori translation, has not been found'. See her Treaty website at: www.nzhistory.net.nz/gallery/treaty-sigs/wai-tangi.htm
Captain William Hobson travelled halfway around the world with a commission from Queen Victoria to acquire a treaty with the Maori chiefs of New Zealand. Maori, who had lost about 80,000 people in inter-tribal fighting during the previous 20-years of musket wars had, since 1837, vigorously petitioned the British Government to come and govern New Zealand. For the British to agree to do so, they required that the chiefs hand full sovereignty, forever, to Queen Victoria; that all such ceded regions or territories become British soil and that all the people of New Zealand (Maori and settlers alike) become British subjects, with equal rights under the law, together. The chiefs, at the time, were also very worried about the French ambitions to annex New Zealand and, 'justly thought they had done a pretty good stroke of business when they placed the British lion between themselves and the French eagle...' (see, The Treaty of Waitangi, by T.L. Buick pp. 281-282, memoires of Rev. John Warren).
The newly arrived Captain William Hobson fell ill shortly after delivering his “proclamation” speech at Kororareka church on January 30th 1840. Although he was committed to having a treaty ready for presentation to the chiefs, who had already been sent invitations to assemble at British Resident, James Busby's Waitangi house on the 5th of February, Hobson became too unwell to write the treaty document. He, therefore, sent his incomplete rough notes for a treaty text ashore, from his cabin aboard HMS Herald, to James Busby, who thereafter took on the task of writing the treaty. Busby went and met with Hobson on the 3rd of February and during the 3rd and 4th finalised the treaty draft. Government historian, Ian Wards mentions that James Busby, Reverend Henry Williams, JR Clendon and missionary, A Brown were participants (along with Hobson and J.S. Freeman) in creating the final draft (see Shadow of the Land, by Ian Wards, Wellington, 1968, pg. 42).
The scribe for the developing treaty drafts, from the 2nd to the 4th of February 1840, was James Busby and surviving draft notes, held by the National Archives, are in his handwriting. The final, officially approved draft was handed to Reverend Henry Williams, by Hobson, at 4pm on the 4th of February for translation into the Maori language. That very historically important final draft went missing, thereafter, for about 150-years, until found by the Littlewood family in 1989. One of the family forebears had been Henry Littlewood, prominent 1840's Solicitor, who had been in New Zealand from as early as 1838 and who had practiced law in both The Bay of Islands and Auckland (as well as Australia).
Unfortunately, after James Busby's final handwritten draft of February 4th went missing, government clerks and functionaries lazily reverted to using Busby's rough notes draft of February 3rd 1840 in order to have an English wording for the Treaty of Waitangi. This raw wording was only a preliminary, developing draft, superseded by the final draft of the following day. It had been modified or upgraded at the insistence of Acting Lieutenant Governor, Captain William Hobson, such that it complied with the written guideline instructions of Lord Normanby of the Colonial Office. Hobson had the 4200-word brief of Normanby in his possession when the Treaty of Waitangi was written.
The Littlewood Treaty document has been positively identified as being in the handwriting of British Resident, James Busby. It also bears the date of the 4th of February, 1840, consistent with the date when the final draft was handed to Reverend Henry Williams for translation into the Maori language. The Littlewood Treaty sheet has a W Tucker, 1833 watermark on the paper. It matches, word-for-word, a copy of the Treaty in English, sent to the Secretary of State in the United States in a despatch with Commodore Charles Wilkes. This despatch had been prepared by James R. Clendon, acting US Consul, on the 20th of February 1840 and was finally sent in April. James R. Clendon was a participant in the treaty drafting process and would have been fully conversant with the final wording. Clendon dated his document for despatch, the 6th of February, 1840 to indicate the date when the Confederation of United Chiefs and Independent Chiefs had signed the Treaty of Waitangi. James Reddy Clendon also kept a copy of this document for himself.
In the final analysis, there is only one “official” Treaty of Waitangi, word-for-word text and that is the Maori text. Lieutenant Governor Hobson said of the parchment (dogskin) copy signed at Waitangi on the 6th of February 1840, that: he considered this device to be, 'de facto the treaty, and all the signatures subsequently obtained were merely testimonials of adherence to the terms of the original document' (see The Treaty of Waitangi, by T.L. Buick, pg. 147).
This is a brief of Martin's book.
http://www.treatyofwaitangi.net.nz/index.html
The original draft in English, on which Henry Williams
based this Maori translation has been found.
The Littlewood Treaty found in 1989 in private papers by
John Littlewood and his sister Beryl Needham.
By Martin Doutré
In the year 2000, shortly before paramount Nga-puhi Maori Chief, Sir Graham Rankin, passed away, he had a series of discussions, concerning Northern New Zealand history, with Allan Titford. One point that Sir Graham made was that the accepted and official English text for the Treaty of Waitangi is radically different from the Maori version in both wording and meaning. When Allan Titford showed Sir Graham Rankin a copy of “The Littlewood Treaty”, a hand written version of the treaty in English found by the Littlewood family of Manurewa, Auckland in 1989, Sir Graham commented that its wording was exactly the same in meaning as the Maori text wording.
It has always been a mystery to our treaty scholars that the two versions, Maori and official English, are so different, especially in view of the fact that the translators, Reverend Henry Williams and his son Edward Marsh Williams, were such expert linguists in the Maori language. Reverend Henry Williams had been a hard working missionary in New Zealand for 17-years when he undertook the translation. His son Edward, who had been virtually raised in a full Maori community, was considered to be a 'scholar par excellence in the Nga-puhi dialect' (see T.L. Buick, 1914, The Treaty of Waitangi, pg. 113).
The official English version has words like, Ireland, Australia, Dominion, Forests or Fisheries in it, which are conspicuous by their absence in the Maori version. It also makes no provision for anyone other than Maori and the rights of the tribe of Queen Victoria (Ngati-Wikitoria) go unmentioned.
The Maori version, by consequence, provides for the rights of “the chiefs and the tribes and for all the people of New Zealand”¼ “ki nga Rangatira ki nga hapu – ki nga tangata katoa o Nu Tirani” (Article II). Back translations of the Maori text since 1840 have always included, “and for all the people of New Zealand”.
New Zealand treaty scholars have been in very general agreement that the original draft wording, from which the Maori version of the treaty was created, went missing. Dr. Claudia Orange, amongst many others, writes, 'The original draft in English, on which Henry Williams based this Maori translation, has not been found'. See her Treaty website at: www.nzhistory.net.nz/gallery/treaty-sigs/wai-tangi.htm
Captain William Hobson travelled halfway around the world with a commission from Queen Victoria to acquire a treaty with the Maori chiefs of New Zealand. Maori, who had lost about 80,000 people in inter-tribal fighting during the previous 20-years of musket wars had, since 1837, vigorously petitioned the British Government to come and govern New Zealand. For the British to agree to do so, they required that the chiefs hand full sovereignty, forever, to Queen Victoria; that all such ceded regions or territories become British soil and that all the people of New Zealand (Maori and settlers alike) become British subjects, with equal rights under the law, together. The chiefs, at the time, were also very worried about the French ambitions to annex New Zealand and, 'justly thought they had done a pretty good stroke of business when they placed the British lion between themselves and the French eagle...' (see, The Treaty of Waitangi, by T.L. Buick pp. 281-282, memoires of Rev. John Warren).
The newly arrived Captain William Hobson fell ill shortly after delivering his “proclamation” speech at Kororareka church on January 30th 1840. Although he was committed to having a treaty ready for presentation to the chiefs, who had already been sent invitations to assemble at British Resident, James Busby's Waitangi house on the 5th of February, Hobson became too unwell to write the treaty document. He, therefore, sent his incomplete rough notes for a treaty text ashore, from his cabin aboard HMS Herald, to James Busby, who thereafter took on the task of writing the treaty. Busby went and met with Hobson on the 3rd of February and during the 3rd and 4th finalised the treaty draft. Government historian, Ian Wards mentions that James Busby, Reverend Henry Williams, JR Clendon and missionary, A Brown were participants (along with Hobson and J.S. Freeman) in creating the final draft (see Shadow of the Land, by Ian Wards, Wellington, 1968, pg. 42).
The scribe for the developing treaty drafts, from the 2nd to the 4th of February 1840, was James Busby and surviving draft notes, held by the National Archives, are in his handwriting. The final, officially approved draft was handed to Reverend Henry Williams, by Hobson, at 4pm on the 4th of February for translation into the Maori language. That very historically important final draft went missing, thereafter, for about 150-years, until found by the Littlewood family in 1989. One of the family forebears had been Henry Littlewood, prominent 1840's Solicitor, who had been in New Zealand from as early as 1838 and who had practiced law in both The Bay of Islands and Auckland (as well as Australia).
Unfortunately, after James Busby's final handwritten draft of February 4th went missing, government clerks and functionaries lazily reverted to using Busby's rough notes draft of February 3rd 1840 in order to have an English wording for the Treaty of Waitangi. This raw wording was only a preliminary, developing draft, superseded by the final draft of the following day. It had been modified or upgraded at the insistence of Acting Lieutenant Governor, Captain William Hobson, such that it complied with the written guideline instructions of Lord Normanby of the Colonial Office. Hobson had the 4200-word brief of Normanby in his possession when the Treaty of Waitangi was written.
The Littlewood Treaty document has been positively identified as being in the handwriting of British Resident, James Busby. It also bears the date of the 4th of February, 1840, consistent with the date when the final draft was handed to Reverend Henry Williams for translation into the Maori language. The Littlewood Treaty sheet has a W Tucker, 1833 watermark on the paper. It matches, word-for-word, a copy of the Treaty in English, sent to the Secretary of State in the United States in a despatch with Commodore Charles Wilkes. This despatch had been prepared by James R. Clendon, acting US Consul, on the 20th of February 1840 and was finally sent in April. James R. Clendon was a participant in the treaty drafting process and would have been fully conversant with the final wording. Clendon dated his document for despatch, the 6th of February, 1840 to indicate the date when the Confederation of United Chiefs and Independent Chiefs had signed the Treaty of Waitangi. James Reddy Clendon also kept a copy of this document for himself.
In the final analysis, there is only one “official” Treaty of Waitangi, word-for-word text and that is the Maori text. Lieutenant Governor Hobson said of the parchment (dogskin) copy signed at Waitangi on the 6th of February 1840, that: he considered this device to be, 'de facto the treaty, and all the signatures subsequently obtained were merely testimonials of adherence to the terms of the original document' (see The Treaty of Waitangi, by T.L. Buick, pg. 147).
WIDGETIZE