NATIVES AND HEALTH

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 47, 17 August 1911, Page 3

NATIVES AND HEALTH

THE TROUBLE AT PUMHO. SUGGESTED REMEDIAL MEASURES. The insanitary conditions prevailing at Maori villages down the coast were again discussed yesterday at the meeting of the Taranaki Hospital and Charitable Aid Board. The chairman, Mr. F. C. Bellringer, reported upon the visits paid by the Board's inspector and by Dr. Chesson, an officer of the Department of Public Health, to the Maori k«ianga at Puniho, and of the discovery of several cases of typhoid. Some Maoris had been admitted to the hospital, and two had had to be taken there with the assistance of the police when found suffering from typhoid. He said that the present style of living adopted by the Maoris was very insanitary and very injurious to health. Thin was a ma tier which all'ected the quest ion of the preservation of the Maori race, and it also had its serious side for the white population. This Maori village was situated in the midst of a dairying district, and its Maori children went to the same school as the European children, so that there was every chance of the disease spreading throughout the district and causing a loss of thousands of pounds to the dairying i-oninmnily, for, of course, the factories could no;, receive milk from typhoidinfected farms. The conditions of living were of the most primitive kind. There was apparently no recognised head of the community to lead them into a more sanitary mode of existence, but he thought the Maoris would change their ways and improve if they could be compelled to do it. They should be made to give up this kaianga system, herding together in villages without any thought being given to sanitation, and made t.o live more on the homestead principle, ft was for the Hospital Board to endeavor to put some such scheme into effect, and he would therefore move: "That, with the object of inducing the natives to abandon the present system I of living in large kainngas. the lion, the Native Minister be respectfully requested to introduce legislation to enable them to remove their dwellings from their kaiangas to lands owned by them individually, and also to enable the Public Trustee! to advance money on the security of their lands and stock for the purposes of effecting permanent improvements and stocking tlieir headings, and that, owing to gatherings which are coni inually taking place of a very insanitary nature, and where a large amount of hionei- is r-»i]am!ercd. which regularly leaves a large number of natives practically destitute, the time has arrived when tiingis should 'be restricted or dour a,v i" villi altogether, in the in- ' ferns' • 1 the na.tivcs themselves and flic puliii- hcJilUi." Continuing, ,Mr.

"Hlvi'v !•■■aid lie understood that the Maor' iiiiMiirrs in I lift' district had been Midiviilii.-iiiscif, ;ind In- had Ih'OM informed on i>v,m! n.iii ii arif.y l.hat tlio Public Trnsiee held in trust for these natives sirn iff nioncv umounting to about (M(K)ll. Ilii-i money having been derived from ivii: ; on Maori innds in Motueka, I'ict.on iind other places. The Public Trusleo should tie given legislative authorilv to advance monev from 111 is fu;id TTTrnnrnWETTri-rtiil»l'e thorn to place houses mi their own areas of land and !o stock it, thus encouraging them to lake no farming and desert their present mode of living. Some change should he made, too. in the system of paying rent to Maoris by the Public Trustee or the Reserves Agent, mainlv because of the great improvidence of the Maoris themselves. The other day he had seen ihe agent pay out a cheque for C(l2 odd '" a nalive. Some friend quickly •■broke" Hie cheque for him. and within live minioes lie hadn't a penny left, and was Irving lo borrow €1(1. His cheque, Mr. liellringer had gathered by enquiry, hud gone in paying for a series of tangis recently held down there. Not a pennv of the. man's rents had gone towards squaring his accounts with business men to whom he was indebted; but he was not there to plead the ease of Ihe storekeeper, who should be able to look al'ler himself. Here was an opportunity for the. Native Minister to show in a practical fashion bis boasted sympalh" wiUi and desire to improve the lot of f hi' Maori people. Referring again to the typhoid outbreak at Puniho, he said it was time to cease pandering to the Maoris and to force them into cleanliness. It was unfortunate and unfair that the natives should be allowed to injure themselves by this neglect and to menace the health of the community. Tie cited an instance of a Maori who, after obtaining his ticket of admission to the hospital for treatment of typhoid fever, went round the various shops, trying on suits of clothes. This was intolerable.

Mr. "Macßeynolds said it would be found that only about 10 per cent, of the 'Maoris at Parihaka had any interest in the Maori land of the district.

Mr. o'Snllivan agreed with the necessity for something being done, and said his experience led liini to believe the Maori would improve if he were given reasonable encouragement.. Mr. IVllringer said that the Maoris at Puniho treated sanitation as a sort of joke. Dr. Chessori lmd spoken to them on the matter, Mr. W. Cray noting as interpreter, and the Maoris only laughed. The pa k elms round about looked on the matter seriously, nnd seemed to appreciate what the' Board had done in the matter. He complained that a nurse had_ been sent up to Puniho from the Wairarapa, but s'he had returned, finding that she could do no good. The Board had not been given any instructions in this matter, and he objected to being overlooked by the Department in any matters affecting the public health in this district.

Mr. Mcßeynolds said that the absence of a head man was perhaps not, much to complain about. Even Te Whiti and Tolui, who had had such fine houseß built at Parihaka for the accommodation of visitors, never slept in them, but in little whares of the old-fashioned type. He would like the natives to get the benefit of the £4OOO that was stored away somewhere at Parihaka.

Mr. Tate said that great difficulty would be experienced in dealing with the native question and native lande. He agreed that the system of paying out rents must be changed. Hundreds of pounds were paid out in Waitara i;.a other day, and most of it was spent in '"a regular carousal" of the whole of the tribe, the natives lying about the roads at night. The poor storekeepers, who were a. necessity to the Maori as well as to the pakeha, saw very litth of the money.

The motion was carried, and the Board decided' to forward to Mr. W. Gray a letter expressing the thanks and appreciation of the Board of his great assistance in dealing with the .Maoris at Puniho.

Upon the suggestion being made that this matter might be discussed at the Counties' Conference, Mr. J. Brown, the delegate of the Taranaki County Council, undertook to bring it under the notice of (he delegates.