1862 Māori Affairs shifts to government

George Grey was appointed to New Zealand for a second term as governor, commencing in late 1861. Up to this point, 'Native Affairs' had been the responsibility of the Governor because of concerns in England that the elected settler governments would inevitably put their interests ahead of those of Māori. In 1862, however, the British Government instructed Grey to normally accept the advice of his ministers in Native Affairs. However, as commander-in-chief of British forces in New Zealand, he retained a great deal of control, and responsibility for Native Affairs did not fully pass to the New Zealand Government until 1865. In the light of the disastrous Waitara purchase, and as part of its new-found responsibilities, the settler government and Grey together shaped the Native Land Act 1862, which set up the Native Land Court to adjudicate upon competing customary claims to land. It created a court of Māori chiefs, chaired by a Pākehā magistrate. The Act also allowed Māori to deal directly with settlers over land. Because it contravened the Treaty, it had to be approved in London. Given the time this took, and the warfare taking place around the North Island, this Act was hardly ever implemented before it was replaced by the very different 1865 Act.