A show of justice : racial 'amalgamation' in nineteenth century New Zealand

Abstract

A Show of Justice looks at New Zealand in the nineteenth century when British officials and humanitarians attempted through assimilation to save the Maori from destruction by the tide of European settlement. This policy, and the special administrative and judicial machinery set up to implement it, helped avert the situations in which the American Indians and Australian Aborigines find themselves. Nevertheless, it led to the subjugation of the Maori under {u2018}a show of justice'. Using the records of the old Native Department, Dr Ward probes the attitudes of Maori and settlers towards each other. He shows how, in practice, the settlers both refused to recognise Maori political and judicial institutions and, lest it enabled them to keep their lands closed to settlement, denied them a genuine share in the new state. He reveals, too, how under settler pressure the special machinery set up to involve the Maori was hastily abolished, a step which has since contributed to keeping the two races apart. Maori are now demanding honest answers to many unanswered questions. In this book they, and all concerned with the problems of race relations, will find a basis for some of the answers. And at a time when nations are being made acutely aware of the aspirations of their minority races, national leaders would benefit from a long hard look at New Zealand's experience. Show more