THE MAORIS TO-DAY AND TOMORROW.

Gisborne Times, Volume X, Issue 1046, 13 November 1903, Page 3

THE MAORIS TO-DAY AND TOMORROW.

(To the Editor Gisborne Times.)

Sir, May I beg or your usual urbauity a corn or in your journal for a few remarks on the subject—headed as above—treated of in a paper read before the Hawke s Lay Philosophical Institute, by H. Hill, 13. A., 1.G.5., who is a well-known periodical visitor to our Philosophical Inscituteless town on duty of Government School Inspector. .By his courtesy I have the privilege of perusing the paper in a pamphlet form, which he has mailed to me irom Napier, In well chosen and truthful preliminaries is stated interesting testimonials to tho vanishing Maoris, spite of excellencies—aiaa, mure apparent than real. That the Maori is a doomed man Mr Hill

admits. The probabilities ot the extinction of the race will point to certain annihilation, and as usual in similar instances, with an ever-increasing ratio of speed. The uucient native customs of the domestic life of the native, and still existing io too many instances, Mr Mill describes from his own knowledge, net from hearsay. The returns of ttie variously taken censuses and approximation as to totals of Maoris from that of the llov. William ifates in 18Uu down to the last one takon in 1901 are suggestive of iroplessness for the Mauri to oecome a nation. In the authentic reports from tho various native papers turmshed to the Government, much, as quoted by Mr Hill, is interesting indeed. On the whole, little that can he construed into signs of hopeful progress can he attempted. The Native woman is an- object of the sincere pity of Mr llill, and, unfortunately lor the poor woman, her position 'is truly lamentable indeed. With all her woman-manliness, endurance of toil, co-mfortless of environment, inability to rear her offspring, her main curse and cause of sucli unhumanising schooling, lies -deep—ages deep-down in her ignorance. Wasteful, thriftless, happy-go-lucky, to-day’s wantt, to-mor-row’s when it arrives ; no forethought, tobacco, sleeping on the -ground, and drinking Maori tea. Ugh ! Mr Hill’s proposals for the organisation of the Maori race, with a view towards the regeneration of -that people, were, he tells us in a summarised extract, recommended to the Government by himself six years -ago. .These proposals were 1. The establishment of internal local government. 3. Cottage hospitals for the sick, and to teach cooking. 3. Education, teachers to 1 be Maoris,4. Scholarships for Native studies ■adapted to Native wants. Number one proposal—no material to hand for accomplishing it—if tried it would result in laughable or tyrranous confusion.-

Number two proposal.—Clearly impracticable, the Maoris aro a particularly unhealthy race. Hence the profits accruing to the tohungas, as their medicine chests contain but a motley collection of nondescript rubbish worth nothing. Number three proposal.—Quite Utopian, no individual mental or physical stamina, a shallow surface brain capacity and a fore-doomed blood strain in every artery. Number four proposal.—This is beyond my conception. I drop it. How much longer may I ask are these people to bo played with ? Is it to the credit of the colonists that this befooling of the Maori should still find advocacy from level-headed mon such us Mr Hill, and that unbreakable squaro of woodenheads, those descendants of Exeter'Hall of the old days who still aro as Samsons in the front of the battle aroused with and brandishing aloft their jaw bones, crying out aloud to the sleeping gods touch not our darlings—else, handle them gently, they are “ reared as pets.” Mr Hill, you and I will take a kinematographic peep at Jamaica. There he stands, an evolved black brother ; yes, our brother. There he is exhibiting the rapid transition of a people from semi-savagery into a pronounced and well-establißhod civilisation, proving beyond cavil that it is possiblo to have one civilisation for blacks, yellows, and whites. In sixty years two generations have brought about success as, sir, we now see. Observo, Mr Hill, the courtesy, native politeness, and cheerful disposition of not only this man before us, but as we find him repeated in the many villages of this most interesting island. Americans say that the emancipated African blacks of Jamaica furnish proofs of a far more humane and successful. result jn the British methods of dealing with sucji an intricate problem than has resulted in a similar attempt in America. We learn that under an active religious propaganda the African Obeah worship is gradually disappearing. Compare this with New Zealand. Flogging is the legal penalty for the practice of Obeah. Should it not be a similar kindness to bestow on the sweet, brown hide of our tohungas ? Exeter Hall within a few hours of barbarism would it be in hysterics, a fast proclaimed, and a day of bijffliliafion. The black and colored population of the island, as we observo, Mr Hill, form the laboring classes, and are satisfactory servants and workpeople. We return to benighted New Zealand. These black evolvolised races have what has ebbed quite out of the Maori carcase

—vim, flint, recuperative nervous power, pure blood, perfectly adapted to the important offices of producing a splendid progeny, .though blaok as soot,—l am, &c., Geo. H. Wilson:

Davos, Switzerland, experienced three severe snowstorms last summer.

Ostend '.will lose £150,000 per annum through the suppression of gambling. Last year 138,000 copies of the Bible in Japanese were circulated in Japan. The Amazon is navigablo for 2200 miles from the (sea; the Mississippi for about 2800 miles. Many watches tick five times to the second. This means 157,788,000 ticks in the course a year. The average ainGUni pf rain which foil south of the equator is only 26m,; north, it is about 37imZuydcote, near Dunkirk, was overwhelmed by sand in 1777. Only the ohurch steeple can now be seen. In a little village in Mecklenburg a oat is roaring, in uddition to two kittens, a little haro orphau. North of tho Arctic Circle 702 different flowering plants have been found ; not one south of the Antarctic.

Tho Wellington City Council should take a trip to Christchuroh, where the convenience of the public is much studied. Cars, roads, and footpaths make those of the Empire City bide their ashamed heads. In the early hours of Saturday morning, after an all-night sitting, there was a disgraceful scene in tho House of Representatives, Foul language, and a blow on tho nose of an honorable member, seems to have been ono phase of it. Tho N.Z. Times blames Mr Tom Taylor, who makes the angry passions of the liquor party rise ; but is this fair ? It is a question as to the physical condition of members at the close of an alj-night sitting. It is probably such as to cause " wigs on the green.” Tho Promier insists upon allnight sittings ; and as long as he does this, the dignity of Parliament, such as it is, must go by the board.—Wairarapa Times. Harper’s Weekly, of September sth has the following A great victory, has been .won; a land victory.; greater even, in many eyes, than the maritime triumphs of Reliance. A quadruped won it; the great and memorable mare, Lou Dillon, on the Readville track on August 21. She beat the record by two seconds and a-quarter, and trotted a mile in two minutes. Great is Lou Dillon ! •Sound the hewgag; let the tocsin •be heard ! In 1859, Flora Temple trotted in 2.193- It has taken fortyfour years to gain tlie_l9| seconds. Housemen have wonderetl and disputed whether it could be done. Mr Bomner is said to have figured out mathematically that the two minute , trotting horse was impossible, bhe is lie re ; she is young, and she seems i to have it in her to put the record ; lower stjlL But two minutes is low i enough. It was for that that we have all been waiting. Let us hope s that the spirits of departed horse- ' men have got wind of what has been dona,