THE NATIVE DEPARTMENT.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLI, Issue 8192, 18 May 1906, Page 4

THE NATIVE DEPARTMENT.

Tnt: decision of 'the Government to reorganise the Native Department will be welcomed by all who are kiierextcd in the betterment of the Maori racc. 'Past methods of Use I)epartmeni liftve been subjected to .searching criticism.; am! although alt the strictures may not have been deserved, .still many of: the allegations fire true in every detail. The Governnient have made the fatal mistake of pandering too much to ..the Maori, and this in a measure account* for the deterioration of the race. The tarigi custom may be city as a ease in point. At then* gatherings the natives assemble in large numbers and eon- | sume all the available, leaving the inhabitant* of vilhtgen jn a state of destitution for months, and the Government assist to the extent of granting laeilities for cheap travelling .irom one settlement to another. At the present time the natives are reported to be suffering severely from the failure of their potato crops. If they were encouraged to practice farming on modern lines much less would be heard of distress among them. They have the land and all that is needed in energy and a disposition to work. The thrifty Maori, and there are numerous eases of this kind in the colony, is usually imposed upon by iazy members of his race, who consider that it is his duty to provide for their sustenance. Census returns to hand indicate a growth in the Maori population, which at once shows the importance of the work the Department has to perform. Fortunate!)* the colony has in Mr Ngata and Dr. Pomare highly educated and intelligent natives who are striving their utmost to improve the conditions of the Maori, and if they are assisted by the Department along right lines, fruitful results must accrue from their labours.