DESTINY OF THE MAORI

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 151, 24 April 1940, Page 7

DESTINY OF THE MAORI

lies with himself

EQUAL WITH PAKEHA

UNDERSTANDS G NEEDED

Hastings. Is the Maori to become merely a -casual manual labourer, needed in our farming and rural pursuits il and when required, or is he to be developed spiritually and socially m •order that lie -may take h,is parti m the normal social, commercial and professional activities of New Zealand, side by side, and on equal terms with the pakeha? This was the question put by Judge G. ' • -Sheppard to the Hastings Rotary •Club when addressing members on > certain aspects of the "Destiny ol the Maori," Judge Sheppard contended that the answer lay with thb Maori himself, though there was need for the pakeha to show the way •-and to show a better and greater; '.understandings of the Maori. Judge ShepaJl stated that his ex'perience had shown him that the --vast majority of the people of New 'Zealand had a very real sympathy -\vifch the Maori; the average New TZealander was intensely interested in the Maori and was proud of his mental capacity, his physique and his arts and crafts. Under these cir- = cumstances it was inevitable that * there should be a great number of :people anxious and willing to extend tthe hand of friendship to the Maori,, he said, but unfortunately ?many were deterred from offering -friendship and social intimacy to the Maori of to-day by the fear that lie will not measure up to the stand- " ard of conduct and behaviour inquired by the ordinary selfrespecting members of societ>.

"The Maori, if he wish.es to occupy his proper place in the community, "must convince the pakeha that he •can and will conduct himself in n "'proper manner in all rcspects, said -Judge Sheppard. "Once this confidence has been gained, there is nothing to prevent the fullest acceptance of the Maori by the pakeha " "which will enable the two races to .move forward side by .side on equai -terms, both socially and commercial:iy. But the proof of his preparedness to measure up to the standards :must, come from the Maori. We can -only point the way. The improvement must come from within the -Maori himself."

Anxious to Draw Relief. "The speaker said that the Maori of 'the day of the Treaty of Wait'angi liad a very real sense of integrity and a pride of race and of place. To-day, many Maoris were content, if not in fact anxious, to draw unemployment relief and to exist upon many forms of gratuitous pension "which are available for the less fortunate members of society. "Few ""have any ambition to advance in "life," he said. "Too many are satisfied with an existence which takes no account of to-morrow. The social -.and economical life of a great number of the Maoris offers very little to them by way of inspiration of liope. It is clear that the Maori must be inspired with a sense of a desire to rise to greater material comforts, and that he 'mist be given a new hope—an ideal of ■citizenship. He has to be helped to have an ambition to be something "In his life. The pakeha may point the way, but the Maori must make ■an effort himself." Dealing with the Native land development schemes, the speaker said

that successive Governments had giv en much thought to Maori welfare and within the last 10 years considerable sums of money had been made available for special assistance, o Maoris to enable them to develop, in prove and occupy their own lands. There was no doubt that much vraluible work had been done by the Naive Department, but unfortunatclv he Native land development scheme ,n itself, or by itself, could never absorb the whole of the Maori population. Assuming that such schemes did absorb half the Maori population, he said, there was the other half for whom a placc has to bu found in our social and economic life. It was fallacious to imagine that all Maoris are callable o! becoming farmers. There was another interesting point in this respect mentioned by the speaker and that was that the Maori population was increasing and it appeared that the gain would accelerate each year. All Own Land. "There is, however, one thing that the Maori has an advantage over most pattellas," he said. "Almost every Maori owns some piece of land or has an interest in some land. He has something upon which to erect an edifice of ambition. Everything in the way of education is available to the Maori in the same way as it is to the pakeha. The facilities are available for his mai terial progress, and it is his fault if he should neglect to take advantage of them. Possibly prejudice can be removed by the Maori himself hv providing his claims to be acceptcd as an equal.'* Regarding the education of the Maori, Judge Sheppard said that there was need for this education along lines that would prepare the Maori youth to adapt themselves to the requirements of earning a livelihood in later life or managing the domestic establishment of the home.