Editing James Busby (section)

====Independence and Treaty of Waitangi====
In 1835 Busby learned that Baron [[Charles de Thierry]], a [[France|Frenchman]], was proposing to declare French [[sovereignty]] over New Zealand. He drafted the [[Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand]] and at a meeting in October signed it together with 35 chiefs from the northern part of New Zealand.

After the arrival of [[William Hobson]] in 1840, Busby co-authored with him the [[Treaty of Waitangi]].  It was first signed on 5 and 6 February 1840 on the lawn outside his residence. Busby and his family left Waitangi that year. He declined an offer for a position in the new colonial government, and instead focused on farming interests, but became entangled in litigation over his own land titles: the [[New Zealand Banking Company]] seized his Waitangi property without giving Busby's debtors an opportunity to pay what they owed, and [[George Grey|Governor Grey]] expropriated Busby's land at [[Whangārei]].<ref name="Jamieson, Nigel 1986 pp. 250-255"/> He also edited a newspaper and in [[1853 New Zealand provincial elections|1853 was elected a member]] of the [[Auckland Province|Auckland Provincial Council]]. As a member of the provincial council, he became an outspoken supporter of establishing Auckland as a separate colony to the rest of New Zealand.{{sfn|Brett|2016|p=150}} Popular opinion at the time went against Busby, and some newspapers claimed his arguments for Auckland's separation were due to his inability to settle land claims with the colonial government.{{sfn|Brett|2016|p=152}}

He contested the [[1860–1861 New Zealand general election|1860 general election]] for a seat in the [[New Zealand House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] for the [[Bay of Islands (New Zealand electorate)|Bay of Islands electorate]], but was unsuccessful.<ref>{{cite news |title= Page 6 Advertisements Column 1 |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=DSC18601207.2.30.1 |access-date= 4 June 2010| work= [[Daily Southern Cross]]|volume= XVII |issue= 1356 |date= 7 December 1860|page= 6}}
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