THE MAORI TO-DAY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 321, 17 December 1910, Page 3

THE MAORI TO-DAY.

CONDITIONS IN THE NORTH , ISLAND. BISHOP AVERILL'S IMPRESSIONS Bishop Averill did not come into close contact with the Maori people until he went from Christchurch to take charge of the diocese of Waiapu about twelve months ago. While travelling up and down through the diocese, he often accepted the hospitality they offered with a generous hand, and he had-many opportunities of learning their racial characteristics and ascertaining the'ir condition under the present laws and ideas of life. As he has been able to study the Maoris from without, the impressions he has received are truer, perhaps, than those of many persons who have been closely acquainted with them for a long time. He told a reporter the other day that one of the first characteristics brought very prominently under his notice was the Maoris' remarkable oratorical talents. He was charmed with the speeches, which seemed to be made upon every conceivable occasion. He found keen delight in listening to the musical voices, and in noting the apt and striking figures of speech introduced to point an argument or to give a happy turn to a sentence. He could not heip comparing the average Maori orator with the average European. There was, he said, a whole world of difference between them. At the Maori College at Te Auteonone occasion, a visit was paid by eighteen layreaders. After a speech of welcome had been made to them, the IS arose, one after the other, and spoke eloquently, each making an original little speech'of his own, and none repeating what had been said before. To a lesser degree he was surprised at the musical talents possessed by the Maoris. When he visited a community, he was welcomed after the Maori custom, with demonstrations of warm feeling, and it often happened that in the middle of the ceremony the Maoris would break out into song. His Lordship gave a fresh interpretation of the famous "taihoa" policy, which has linked, for all time, apparently,_ the Maori's name with procrastination. He said that his observations had convinced him that it was quite wrong and very unjust to defame the Maori as a loafer The fact was that the Maoris of to day had come, only a few years ago, from a race of warriors, who fought hard for a short, time, then took a long rest and then fought again. In these time of peace following the old custom, the Maoris worked as their forefathers had fought. They worked hard and worked well, and then held back for a long rest. The policy was pursued in all the kinds of work to which they turned their hands, from navvying to bush felling and shearing. In the North Island there was a belief that there was no shearer, like the Maori shearer; but he always liked to take a rest when shearing was over.

There were in the diocese 16,000 | Maoris, and three-quarters of them belonged to the Anglican Church. One of the present difficulties in the wsy of dealing with them was represented by Kua, the "prophet," as he was called. He had a good number of followers amongst the poorer clasess, and although his influence was now waning he succeeded in disturbing many and in removing them from civiliisng and religious influences. Lately, Rua had sold a large block of land to the Government. It seemed to be a great mistake to directly pay the Maoris the money due to them. In most cases, when money was obtained in that way, it was simply squandered and both money and land was lost to the Maoris. It would be much better for the Government to try to find some means of investing the moneys. The question was a very difficult one. The Maoris owned vast areas of land. He was greatly surprised at the extent of the Maori lands in his diocese. There was a marked tendency for them to get rid of the properties, and if the money was handed to them it would eventually lead to the establishment of a race of paupers. He was told that at Whakatahe some time ago,when a number of Maoris received their share of the money from the block sold by Rua, they went into the shops with sums up to £SO and purchased all sorts of utterly useless articles, many of which wer.e not worth more than threepence. The manager of a bank told him that some of the Maoris were induced to place the money in banks on fixed deposit. In a few days they wished to withdraw it, and were" as disappointed as they were surprises when they learnt that it had been locked up for twelve months. They could not realise that the kindest act had been done towards them. There wa3 no doubt that something

; must be done to the land. At present [ it was blocking progress in that part iof the Dominion, In some parts the | Maoris were farming and were faring | very well. But a great deal of the ' land was useless. The problem was to ! turn it to profitable use and to protect and benefit the Maori owners, The i recent law in the direction of restrictI ing the areas of different classes of ! land a European might lease from the ! Maori, he was afraid, would not prove

very satisfactory. Europeans who had leased Maori lands for many years would not be able to continue their leases. The results in some cases would be disastrous. The effects would be specially marked on the East Coast, where large blocks were held by the Williams family, with gt-'eat advantage to the Maoris and to the country. The Maoris had no truer friend that Mr T. S, Williams, who lived at Karau. If he had to leave the district, it would be a very disastrous loss to the Maoris and the East Coast, and it seemed to be impossible for him to retain his Maori leases under Uie present law. Mr Williams was really a father to hundreds of Maoris, .lie was their banker and their agent, and he taught them all they knew of farming, and transacted all their business affairs. It seemed to be fairly certain that the Maoris, on the whole, would not farm properly. He ha>l passed through inijeg upon miles of

Maori land which had not been developed, but which could be developed if it was cultivated in accordance with modern ideas. As to the Maoris and the licensing laws, Bishop Averill said that he was pleased to note that the Government had decided to give the Maoris an opportunity to vote against liquor being supplied to the race. It was quite right to give them a voice on the question. The leaders, on the whole, were opposed to the use of liquor. At Ruatcki, where a mission school had been established, the chief, Kereru, was a good friend of the missionaries, and did excellent work amongsc the Maoris. Throughout the diocese the Maoris were deeply indebted to the State native schools. The teachers were carrying on work which he could not praise too highly. In many cases the teacher was the only European in the pa, and the Maoris turned to him in all their trials and tribulations. At Te Whiti, in the heart of the Urewera Country, wiiere Bishop Averill stayed during one of his visits, the wife of the teacher, he said, was the only white woman for many miles. In many other instances the teachers lived isolated and lonely lives, doing humble but admirable work.

The Church, of course, had its training schools and colleges, notably at Te Aute. In the past much time, thought and- pains had been spent on Maori boys. At the present time, more altention was given to training Maori girls. Women missionaries were needed to go into the Maoris' houses and influence the Maori women A mission had lately been started at Tokoniaru, on the East Coast, north of Gisborne, where Miss Sibyl Lea, who had gone from South Canterbury, was stationed. At Rotorua, which was included in the diocese, Miss Griffin and Miss Grant, both of whom had been in Christchurch, were doing very good work. In other directions a fine class of young Maoris were entering the ranks of the clergy. They ware trained at the college at Gisborne, and were refined, well educated and enthusiastic. Eighteen Maori clergy were at work in the diocese, and at the latest ordination he had ordained five priests and two deacons. The work was now pushed on into the centre of the Urewera Country,and the prejudices that had existed there since the time of the Maori wars was being broken down. —"Lyttelton Times."