THE MAORI CONTINGENT.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 August 1915, Page 5

THE MAORI CONTINGENT.

AN .lLWMSfttlAN'ft HITRESSIOXB. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, but -Night. An English pa,per, the Rotherham Adyi rtiser, of Juno .">, contains a letter f'om l'rivato E. W. Kidg-wav, of the London Jlegiment at Malta* (an exschoolmaster), in which some reference is made to the Maoris. "The boys at 1.110 school," he writes, " will lie very much interested to know that I have seen Mime real live Maoris. Oil Wednesday we operated in conjunction With three otluv. battalions, one of which was this .Maori Battalion. We marched tr. a pliee in Malta, six or seven miles ftj'tiy. and when we arrived there the Maoris were already there, and were having tea. On our "approach they stopped their meal, ami stood at attention until we were in oi.r plieuj ready for tea.. They looked ,1, fine lot of fellows, ami I felt glad they were on o;>r side, not aaffinst us, and I must f*< iifto an added seine of security after having seen thein. On the aver- *»'• r , l|ink we 'ire slightly taller than they. 'but they have more brawn and smew than we. As we nrarehed -past 0r..; oa our fellows said; 'Tliev will think we are a, puny lot,' «iul I agreed. They are rcflnu.rkab'ly well made and very atllliic. ihey skip over the rocks very bghtiy. Wo saw one man (lo jump with his full pack ou. then- skins are very dark, and th:ir hair is Jilni-k and. curly, but they have ail the culture of the Englishman] They speak Knglish quite as well as we do, for most, of them have a college educa(ion and are quite wealth v. A N<jw Zealand.'!-, not a Maori, with whom T spoke told me that when he reached i.gvpf he had .C4O in his possession, and fill army pay due to him. Tie said tli.it many of them had ,1100, and some even I lot) with them. Another said that his greatest ambition was to be hd into buttle by an Knglish olliccr. -*v*lk\t an answer to the Herman b> that oar colonics arc but loosely held, and thai lue Kiiipire would go to pieces like a paJ< Ml cards! They will do anything tor an Englishman. ami the men of rho T) Company said that during the week they spent at camp rlieir (the Maoris') greai. -.; delight was to take them to the, canteen and lavish their money 011 them. ' Lord M.-tliucii reviewed them again oil Thuv-ibv mornim.', ami he wanted to knew u-iiU-ii of tii,.ju wished to do gnrrid.i{v .-Hid who wished to <ro to the .iioul. lie commanded all who wanted io i:i» 14.! 11 S-r.n duty to 'slope arms.' and e.'i eii" in (lie whole company sloped in i.i-. ! hat's lovaitv indeed!''