Unwritten rules: why claims of a missing ‘fourth article’ of the Treaty don’t stack up

I sign this Treaty with my hand, but with the mana of my ancestors.

So said Hōne Heke, the first rangatira (chief) to sign the Treaty of Waitangi. To emphasise the gravity of this sentiment, he then mentioned two of his predecessors by name: Kaharau and Kauteawha.

It would be difficult to imagine a statement that could invest more mana in the Treaty than this. And Heke was not alone in his view of the agreement.