administer the region in a way that did not prejudice Maori interests. From the beginnings of the colony, administration and development were expected to be carried out in a manner that did not drain scarce government resources. Until 1844 the Colonial

Office worked on the patently unreal assumption (really a variant of Wakefield's sufficient price theory) that governors should finance all requisite services and works

from the high profits expected to be made on the resale, at Crown auctions, of land previously bought from Maori at peppercorn figures.27 This fiscal chimera had faded

away by FitzRoy's time (1844), but the belief that colonial government in New Zealand must be financed on the cheap had not.

When representative government came (1853-56) exposing administrations more than

ever to the importunities of the settlers, ministerial tightfistedness carried on at both central and provincial government levels. Indeed, where there were unresolved questions of financial responsibility, the buck could be passed back and forth between

general and local authorities. John Williamson, provincial superintendent spoke of such an instance in 1868:

Although the revenue from the Gold Fields has not met the expenditure, I have tried to provide as far as possible for the requirements of the district

. . . I regret that, I have been unable to spend an adequate sum on public works on the Gold Field. This arises from the circumstance, that the export duty on gold, which amounted to £2,334 5s. 3d. up to the end of May, has been retained by the General Government, although the cost of administration has to be borne by the Province. I hope, however, that during the ensuing half-year the gold revenue will be paid into the Provincial Treasury as the law requires, and thus enable me to undertake the necessary public works on the field.28

Costly capital formation limited share of wealth available for Maori

In the 1860s, decade of the gold discoveries, New Zealand suffered from a great dearth of capital assets needed to give long-term living standards and amenities comparable with those of Britain, which immigrants coming to the colony seemed to expect would be theirs as of right. By 1914 heavy investment had been made in the following:

•         buildings—residences, shops, commercial and public structures;

•         city assets—drainage, water supply, sealed roads;

•         transport—roads, railways, wharves and docks;

•         productive assets—farm development, factories, mines.

27 R.C.J. Stone, 'Historical Report on the Auckland Metropolitan Area to Crown/Congress Joint Working Party', April 1992, pp. 14-15.

28 Address presented by Superintendent to Provincial Council, 15 June 1868 in Auckland Provincial Council Journals, June-July 1868, Session 23.

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