1842 Māori deemed under Crown authority

In 1842, a longstanding struggle between the Māori of Hauraki and Tauranga broke out in a fresh wave of violence. The Government could do little about it, and the Attorney-General advanced the argument that the chiefs who had not signed the Treaty (as was the case with Taraia, one of the leaders in the fighting) were perhaps not bound by the Crown's authority anyway. This argument was immediately rejected in London. Since Hobson's declaration of the Queen's sovereignty in May 1840 (or at least since his proclamation was gazetted in London in October 1840) all of New Zealand and all of its inhabitants were considered to be under British sovereignty. This did not mean, however, that British law had to be imposed immediately upon Māori. Some matters, such as warfare, cannibalism and slavery, were supposed to be suppressed as soon as practicable, but other customs could be left to the influence of missionaries and increasing contact with white settlement.