STATUTORY RECOGNITION FOR MAORI KING

Chronicle (Levin), 23 April 1946, Page 2

STATUTORY RECOGNITION FOR MAORI KING

-Press Association

NOT ACCEPTABLE. TO ALL TRIBES.

By Telegraph—

AUOIyIjAND, April 22. Tlie request that King Koroki bc given stacutory recogmtion by thc uovernment as tlie Aiaori .king Avas made to the Prime Minister (Mr. Peter i'raser) a.t a conference of Waikatu and axlied tribes at Ngaruawahia on oaturday, but, in a dramatie sequel, variousf ieaders of the Maori tribes dissociated themselves from tlie statutory recogmtion request. ' The claim for recogiiition was made in a series of resolutions passed at a meeting o/i Friday night and supported by a long statement which was read by Mr.'Tita Wetere, of -Morrinsville, on Gaturday. .. Mr. Fraser said that he cbncedea the right of the Maori, p,eoplo -to say who their leader should be!, ' 'and also to adopt a lrereditary leadersliip, if ao desired. The Maori people had ncvor claimed that there should be two kings exercising the same sovereignty over the same people. There could be only one King, to whom all people, Maori and pakeha alilte, owed allegiauce. That, however, did nqt prevent tlie Maori people or anv se.ction of it f'rom clesignating their leatler.as king if they so'desired. There was- a claim in- tlit document that King Koroki was acknowledged as king and leader by practieally all the Maori tribes, and on that claim wus based the request for statutory recogiiition. Tlult claim, said tlie Prime Minister, must be establisheil and proved. There was a dramatie sequel when the Maori tribes, gatliered at tlie weekend at Turangawaewae Pa, Ngaruawahia, dissoeiated tliemselves from the claim for statutory recognition by King Koroki. An offieial statement released 011 behalf of tlie Ieaders of the Waikato, Wanganui, Taupo, Taranaki, Tauranga, Hauraki, and King Country peoples stated: "Tlie statement read by Mr. Tita Wetere did not receive tlv; prior approvai of the Maori Ieaders of the tribes represented at the assembly, It was subject to debate from tlie commencement, to the exclusion of all otlier subjects. The discussion continued tlirougliout Friday night, and fmallv a resolution Avas carried which was subsequently read to the meeting by Mr. Pei .Tonos, in Maori and Engiish, and was carried. At tlie same time Mr. Wetere 's statement was rejected as not being acceptable to the gatliering owing to the form in wliicli he proposed it; in particular a paragraph asking for statutory recognition was to be deleted. The preparation of the statement and the reading of it in the English language prevented the assembled Maoris from really appreciattng its signific.mce and purport. Despite the general opposition to that porton of the statement, Mr. Wetere persisted, and that preeipitated tlie situation, one which will have repercussions throughout Maoridom. " * Immediatelv after tlie Ministerial partr left, the tribal Ieaders met aiul passed a vote of censure and non-cou-fidence in Mr. Wetere and his associates.