LEPROSY AMONG THE MAORIES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2210, 27 August 1889, Page 2

LEPROSY AMONG THE MAORIES.

Iq the " Monthly Review " for August edited at Wellington by Mr J . R Blair, appears the following loiter »n ri'ply to some remarks made by " Aumodeoa " m the "New Zealand Times":— •■ A very startling and aensjtlonul paragraph has lately appeared In the oolnmns rf the (< New ZeaUod Times " nowspipor, stating < that leprosy hta vcqalred r firm bold of at least two native tribes m the Wanganul district. This paragraph 1b calculated to mislead those who hnvo no personal knotrladgo on the eubjoot, more partioularly where the writor Bays that tbe leprosy la qaestlon whb latroducod by the Ohlnese. It Is not 100 mach to ssy thtt the author of the paragraph In qa'.Btlan is wroog In almost all his etatementa. The leprosy to which he refers Is of rare occurrence. It does not, so far aa my experience goes, exist among tha Wanganul hapusl It is most unquestionably a Maori disease ; but I have only known Its existence among the Taupo tribes. This so-called luproty Is known among tha Maoris under the nami of ngeringwi, and I have only soon three persons thus pfUloteri. The dlseaso Is snid to be highly oontsglous, and the eubjeots are at ocoa rigorously lsol»ted, The nataro of the dlaewe Is such that the toes and fingers wither, and drop off one by oue, untU the patient dies ; the mind dees not appear to be greßtly affected by this horrible rnnlady, nor does there appear to be any great bodily pa'n t but on these two points I am open to correction. So torrid id are tbe Maoris lest they shpnld be smitten with this form of leprosy, that the mere report (hat a person had died of ngeringeri m any bcuae, even ten js»ts previously, would be sufficient to prevent him from entering tho pUoo ; Indeed thoy wonld not even oat fond that hai befn cooked with the wood taken from the house. This Is a very interesting subject, and I hope tbis notice may provoke dleousslon, since there must be many persons wbo have oomo knowledge concerning It now living In Wellington,"