Kaihau Henare Waiuku Nz 1920 1911

edmondsallan - Hello -In 1903 Kaihau took a seat on the Waikato District Maori Land Council, having been persuaded by James Carroll. But the results of the Maori Lands Administration Act 1900 and the unwillingness of the government to make land laws more equitable hardened him against future land legislation. He argued passionately that these laws were trampling Maori rights and mana that had been guaranteed to them under the Treaty of Waitangi. By 1910 these rights had effectively been taken away. Disillusioned and frustrated by the lack of commitment to Maori issues, by 1905 Kaihau spoke mostly to the Maori land bills and took his seat in Parliament only when such legislation was introduced. He did not speak in the House at all in 1906, 1908 and 1909. During this period he turned his attention to the idea of re-establishing a Maori parliament, following the decline of the Kotahitanga movement of the 1890s. The new parliament was to be centred on Mahuta and his pa at Waahi. The aim was to rally all Maori leaders, devise a plan of self-determination and fight unjust land laws. Large meetings were held in 1907, but they failed to overcome divisions within the King movement and differences with tribes outside it.
In 1908 the Waikato leaders acted by themselves. Mahuta wanted to buy back confiscated land at Taupiri and Ngaruawahia where he would establish a township and parliament. Money was raised through the sale and lease of land. Some was invested by Kaihau in Auckland land companies and some placed in trust funds in Kaihau's name. By 1911 the companies had collapsed and over £50,000 of King movement money had been lost. The failure of these investments coincided with charges of impropriety brought against Kaihau in Parliament. On 12 October 1910 John Hine, the member for Stratford, laid charges of corruption against several members. Kaihau was accused of having accepted money from electors for his work on petitions, and of receiving payment for setting up land sales: while he urged his people to hold on to their lands, he assisted those who were determined to sell. In his defence Kaihau stated that he had been working in the capacity of a licensed agent, and that lawyers and others in the House did similar work for their clients and constituents. He was found 'guilty of impropriety in the execution of his office'. The Speaker, however, observed that because 'the honourable member is a Native, and…does not speak our language', and 'our Standing Orders are not translated into the Maori language', he may not have been 'aware that he was doing what was improper.' No penalty was imposed. Their has been much controversey over many of these well documented exchanges and even today , their is two sides battling for power to be along side the Maori Queen . Power that people receive sometimes , corrupts them for ever . I don't have an answer to it and neither do billions of people on our planet. Till we meet again - Regards - edmondsallan