On Schools.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 1, Issue 26, 20 December 1849, Page 3

On Schools.

[From the "New World."] I.—Do you send your children, when you are enabled to do so. to school? If you do not, you are very much to blame, for you prevent your children taking advantage of mind and knowledgo which by cultivation God has given to nearly all. Remember that unless children are taught to read and write, tliey grow up ignorant and brutish, remember what your oivn parents were, because of their want of knowledge. Another important point with you, should ba to endeavour 10 induce white men to settle amongst you as teachers. You should do so, fur it is very important that your children should be taught the English language. 2. —The New Zealanders number many, but possess no books which they may derive knowledge from. The English number millions and millions, and have more books, containing accounts of the past and presen', and all interesting and useful matters, more than the Natives could count, Tlus is one reason why you should becocce members of the English race, by learning our language. But Satever you do, do not neglect to educate ur children. 3. —In the next number we shall prove to you how you may employ white men in all your pa's to educate your children. Soap.—Cleanliness I.—Many Natives die in coniequenco of their filthy mode of life. Some Natives never wash themselves, and tho dirt on their bodies, doctors will tell you, generates sores, and this accounts for tho disease termed amongst you u/ai-kui-kai. Now you should always wash yourselves directly you leave your beds of 'a morning. Those who live on the co!St or on tha banks of rivers, would find their health inproved provided they bathed every morning; but never neglect to wash yourselves. 2.—And to cleans yourselves properly, 1 vou requ.ro soap. Sojp is very cheap, and

may bo procured at any of the white man's i stores. Do not be sparing of its use; and uljove alt, make your wives wash your little ones regularly, as there is nothing more conducive to health in after life, than the attention of parents to the cleanliness of their children. On Cleaning Flax. 1 —Friends, In our last paper we told you how' to dress the I'lax.—Have you done _anythin" in it, if not, set to work at once.—Many of you are willing to work for white people for one shilling and sixpence and two shillings per day. Now you can always cam this hy dressing Flax, after the plan you have always been accustomed to.—lf you doubt this try how much flax you really can clean by -craping in one day—say from eight o'clock in the morning to five o'clock in ilie uflernoon.

Cut a quantity of green flax over-tiight, and when the piopcr liourfor working arrives, begin to clean it, by scraping wi»h the shell, and when you leave oil' in the evening, weigh the flax you have cleaned—you will then see liow readily you can employ yourselves at n remunerating price, for depend upon it an expert hand can always earn—even with the shell process —more then eighteen-peace per day.

2.—But you have been told how to clean flax more expeditiously. You must buy very large iron pots and boil the flax, asyou would cabbages, in fresh water, for from halt an hour to an hour —then place the flax on a hard block of wood in a running stream of water, and beat it with heavy pieces of wood —such as Maire.—Then lei the flax remain in freshwater for some hours, and afterwards hang it upon fences to dry. 3—Now attend to this. Begin to dresg flax. The white people require flax to send to Sydney, Ilobart Town. England, and America. Suppose twenty or thirty or one hundred in each Pah commence dressing flax immediately. In a few months time you will be enabled like the Otaki people to build better house? ; and buy warm and good clothing, and to purchase better food.—The labour which you may expend upon the flax •will greatly benefit your condition, and will in time make New Zealand as fine a country as can be found in the World,