The British influence on the islands actually began in 1,833 with the appointment of James Busby as a resident agent. In 1,835 he signed the Treaty of Waitangi with Maori chieftains, forming an infant state of mixed whites and Maoris, under the parent protection of the King of England. Legally this appeared to be only a statement of intent to form a biracial society, with equal rights for both, but it survived only as an ideal. In spite of land wars which raged from time to time, New Zealand became a Crown Colony in 1,842, with Captain William Hobson as the first governor. A constitution of 1,852 set up a pseudo-federal system with 6 provinces, each with legislatures and central governments, but the Maori were denied franchise because they were not land-owners individually, as the Europeans were, but communally. Although not represented, they were still heavily taxed and Hobson and his successors had great difficulties pleasing both the Maori chieftains and the white settlers. Great government deficits augmented the problems.
The principal promoter of systematic settlement, the New Zealand Company, was motivated by land hunger at the expense of the "naked savages" and the racial situation rapidly deteriorated to the Maori-pakeha
Running parallel with the wars during the 1,860s was the story of gold on the South Island, beyond the reaches of the battles. Thus, both population and economy rose faster on the South Island, due not only to gold, but also to vast increases in cattle, sheep and crop acreage. Full exploitation of the potential products of both islands was delayed because of the absence of technology such as refrigeration, however, and a depression developed in the 1880s. Along with this, but unrelated, by the middle 1,880s it appeared that the Maoris might die out, as their number rapidly declined. By 1,896 there were only 42,000 left. New Zealand reached political stability under the leadership of a liberal prime minister, Richard John Seddon (1,893-1,906) and the help of rising prices and the export of meat, cheese and butter facilitated by refrigerated shipping. The British initially offered a market for wool and gold. Many experiments in socialism were undertaken in this country and it remains basically socialistic, yet without complete government control, today. (Ref. 76 , 8 , 9 )