A ROYAL WELCOME.

Otaki Mail, Volume 26, 11 April 1919, Page 3

A ROYAL WELCOME.

TO RETURNED MAORI SOLDIERS. ENTHUSIASTIC AND SUCCESSFUL SOCLAL. The Otaki district members of the Pioneer Battalion, who arrived home on Wednesday morning last, -were entertained at a social gathering in the Otak-i Town Hall on Wednesday night. The building was t-axel to its utmost with a large and most enthusiastic gathering,’ and the function was a most successful and enjoyable one. The gathering took the form of a dance-social. Messrs W. Bowden an). Puku Rikiliana were most energetic as masters of ceremonies, and kept things going merrily. During tr e evening Mr W. B. Smith (chairman of the Otaki Patriotic Society) addressed the audience. Ho said the joy of welcoming tho returned men was somewhat tempered by. sorrowful thoughts of tho lads who would never return. However, they should not grieve too much for these, for they had done their part nobly and well, and their sacrifice w T as x.ot in vain. It had been an eye opener to many, said Mr Smith, to find that the young Maori men had given as good account- of themselves as their pakcha brethren. Wo in this., district had followed the movements of tho Pioneers week by week, and had been .thrilled with pride at tho way they had made good. We were not surprised at this, as wc knew them, but it had been a surprise to other parts of the world. On tho field of battle they had acquitted themselves well, and on leave had acted liko British gentlemen. In fact they had, worthly upheld iho best traditions of tho Maori race . and the British people. On behalf of tho Otaki Patriotic Society and tho public, both European and Maori, Mr Smith then accorded the returned men a most hearty welcome. He hoped they would enjoy them' selves and settle down to their civilian lives happily.: ' '

Major (Dr.) Buck, who responded on behalf of the Maori soldiers, was greeted with much enthusiasm. He hoartily thanked Mr Smith for the flattering remarks he had made, and said the boys were very glad to bo back jo their own land and their own district. The speaker spoke of the early history of the Maoris, saying they had navigated the South Pacific in bygone days, long before Columbus discovered America.- When tho Treaty of Waitangi was signed, said Major Buckj the Maoris accepted the British flag as the emblem of authority, | and ceased to be a separate J they became part and parcel of tho great British Empire—and whon the war broke out in 1914 the Maoris readily accepted .their responsibility, and offered their services on behalf of the Empire. During the war,-at Gallipoli and in Franco, the Maoris, had fought side.by side with their pakcha brethren, and had won the esteem df all and the .praise of .their commanding officers for the way they had acquitted themselvc-s. One characteristic that had stood the Maori soldiers in good stead during the war was their unfail- j ing cheerfulness under, all conditions, while they had also shown themselves j possessed’ of the power of perseverance i and endurance, with which the Maori race was not generally credited. They had stood every test, and come out with credit. These men—the ' Maoris and pakehas —had shed their blood side by side, and shared untold horrors, and they would be welded together in a . bond that, he hoped and believed, would last all time, and continue in eivil life as it had in war. In conclusion, Df. Buck Said he trusted this would be the last war, anu that the world would settle down to a brighter and a better future, as a result of the part that' the' British Empire had played in the great war. The speaker’s eloquent speech was listened to most attentively and freely punctuated with applause. “For They are Jolly Good Fellows’' was then sung heartily, followed by rousing cheers for the returned soldiers ana an extra ehoer for Major Buck. Tho social was kept' up till a late hour, all - spending a most enjoyable time! The Natives who had charge at the arrangements' (with Miss Ria Tahiwi as secretary) worked hard to ensure that every one had a good time.