JAPANESE AND MAORIS.

BRAVE RACES FRATERNISE. VISITORS AT ROTORUA. CHARACTERISTIC WELCOME. MANY MEMORABLE SCENES. [BT telegraph,—SPEClAL REPORTER.} ROTORUA. Tuesday. Uvtsed as they are to displaying their own emotion?, the Japanese are nevertheless sensitive to the demonstrations of feeling on the. part of others. This fact was illustrated to-day in the pleasure which was evinced by Admiral Matsumura. the. members of his staff, and the cadets or midshipmen now visiting Auckland on two Japanese training ships, at a demonstrative reception accorded to them by the natives on their arrival in RotOrua. The ways of the pakeha and of the Maori are different ways, so that although the welcome from the European population of the thermal town lacked nothing in heartiness, it is the memory of the welcome from the Maoris which the naval men will carry back with them to Japan. Since the historic occasion when the same Maoris welcomed the representatives of th-- United States Navy to their district so.Te years ago. there has been no more impOMiir or interesting event in Rotorua than that of today. Those making the trip to the Hot Lakes centre comprised the Japanese admiral, , his staff, sis officers, including the cap- ' tains of each ship, and 95 cadets, the Rous. A. M. Myers, Minister for Munitions, and G. \V. Russell, Minister for Public Health, representing the Govern- ' ment, the Acting-Consul for Jajjan, and : chairman of the Auckland Harbour Board, I Mr. H. D. Heather, the Mayor of Auck- ; land, Mr. J. H. Gunson, the Under-Sec- I retary for Internal Affairs, .Mr. J. Hislop i Major Sleeman, attache to the Japanese : admiral, and associated with him. Captain ! Garland, of the district headquarters, Auckland. The party left Auckland bv special train at 6.15 a.m. A refreshment car was I attached, where breakfast a ad luncheon were served to the visitors, who in every ; way found their comfort provided for. On I the way down the Japanese officers and cadets were "coached" by their European companions on the* train in the meaning of Maori words, and they showed a. keen desire to be in a position to ex- ! press themselves in that language. At • all the stations en route thev were ac- ' corded a welcome, even in sparsely popu- ' lated districts where the residents" turned : out to cheer as the train passed bv. At : Frankton the Mayor of that borough, Mr. '■ F. B. Jolly, together with the Mayor of Hamilton, Mr. J. R. Fow, were waiting with the members of their councils, and ' the first-named made a felicitous speech, j to which Admiral Matsumura responded. i Welcomed to Eotorua. i i On arrival at Rotorua, at, about 12.15 ! p.m., there was a iaree gathering of towns- i people on the platform, and cheers were given for the visitors. Mr. Russell ' formally welcomed the latter on behalf of ! the Government, and Mr. \V. W. P. Hall. ! manager of the Rotorua branch of the! Bank of New Zealand, in the absence of | Mr. W. Hill, the Government tourist ! agent, welcomed the visitors on behalf of j the townspeople. The station ceremony was brief, and at ' its close*the party passed out to a long i line of waiting motor-cars and brakes ; through the ranks of a company of re- i turned convalescent soldiers and a guard j of honour of boy scouts and cadets. ] Maori Reception at Model Pa. Under the arrangements organised by • Mr. A. E. Wilson."deputy agent for the, Tourist Department, there were no delays ' in the subsequent programme, and in a minimum of time the maximum of sights ' were seen by the Japanese. From the station they were driven to Whakarewa- I rewa and here they were received at the j entrance to the model pa by Guide Susan. When all the visitors had arrived, the ■ Ministers led the way into the pa. Just inside the entrance they were awaited by a party of wahines in native attire, with fern leaves waving in their hands. The . natives, walking backwards, preceded the . visitors into the .v.terior. and as th •%" went, the wahines cVnnted i song of wi-1- ; come, the translation of which is " W »1 ; come to the illustrious visitors from across ; the great ocean of Kiwa—Pacini It was. you "who made the sun to shine and let the sun continue to shine." Half-way to the ma i sate in the palisade the wahines gave way to some 50 warriors, whose naked bodies gleamed in the ii'fu l sunlight. They stood crouched and silent . until the visitors they wer° there to >» el- . come were all but upon thorn. Then, -it the '■ bidding of their chief, they arose as mid ; man, and sticks, staves and mere c in hand. they broke into a frenzied haka. their rauno . mats swirling, and whinlin_* to the rhythm of their gliste nag limb?. Characteristic Native Speeches. i The central portion of the pa had been j enclosed for the visitors and when they ; were seated therein they were soon en- | closed in a solid circle of townspeople and] Maoris, remaining the centre of attraction i Now followed an interesting native cere- | monial. I First arose Kiwi Amohan. an aged chief . of the Arawas. Loudly he harangued his; people, who loudlr cheered in return. Then j Kiwi turned to hi? Japanese guests and said I to them, the Rev. F. A. Beni.-tt inter- I preting, ''Haeremai! welcome, twice we! j come, to you v.-ho represent a great nation, a strong nation. and a King and people who have assisted us in our troubles. We of both races in New Zealand have s«nt our children to the front, and that thev have had wife transport across the ocean is because of your wat' !i and 'are. "We feel that we owe you a very _'reat; debt, and that the only way to repay it I is by shedding blood for you a- you h-'vei shed it for us. 1' vou should have a day | of trouble, we will rivme to your assist- . ance—(Cheers)." Kiwi added much on the same lines, and concluded br expressing the hope that Britain and Japan might, always be united and progress together j and exercise ..> crr.-od influence in the world j for ever and ever and ever. 1 White-haired Chiefs Addressed. When the natives' war cry. " Kornate Komate Kanra Kaura." had been lustily delivered, there smeared in the centre of ■ the arena a white-haired and white- ' bearded o>tureso;ue) figure in the person , of Mite Taupopok''. another Amwn chief. ! tain. H° wa« clad in a wonderfu l native! dress, in r, :id : n:- a head dress. e.T~]osin'_' I many kiwi feathers. He commenced h ; j address in the tone of a chant, and working to a climax, expressed his sentiments with astonishing vigour. After a formal welcome to the ert-re visiting partr. thi-- ancient warrior said 'Vou have come over the great, ocean of the God Kiwa, and we are gratified by the care vou have taken of our young men who have crossed that ocean to fisrht. We we'conie vou a ? the representatives of a great people, a ficrhtine race. and as those who have given these cheeky Germans a good vhit(Laughter and applause). Old Warrior's War Blood Stirred. " We old peonle too wanted to <ro a.nd help to beat those Germans." Thereupon j the veteran stamned and waved his arms i in wild gesticulation, sprang into the air, I extended his muscles, and came to rest in j - a fighting posture, greatly to the delight ; of the onlookers. " I am quite active enough to so to the front, as you can ' eee for yourselves," he triumphantly re- ! marked. " "It is no good sending the boys: we are the men who should go," whereon the spectators cheered. Mr. Mvers. in a brief speech, spoke appreciatively of the Maoris' welcome to the Japanese visitors, and Mr. Gunson ex-,

pressed similar sentiments on behalf of the citizens of Auckland. Ad * n i ral Matsumura then replied to the- '' Maoris' speeches of welcome in his own tongue. His remarks were repeated in English by Mr. Heather, and in Maori bv the Rev. F. A. Bennett. He said:—"l am very pleased to have this opportunity of speaking to people of the Maori race. It is a pleasure I have looked forward to since my arrival in New Zealand. As Japan is in alliance with the British Empire, and as we are in close friendship one with the other, it gives me great pleasure to see that your great warrior race, the Maori people, are living peacefully and happily under the British flag, and that you in addition are exerting vour utmost loyalty and effort to the Crown. " I was particularly struck to hear of the magnificent bravery of the Maoris in I ! the Gallipoli battles, and I feel sure that the Maori contingents now in France will; ; do equally well. " I believe that it is not i ; only in the interest of the British Empire. I ; hut also in the interest of Japan that you | will maintain your present loyalty to Great | Britain. I hope that as the years go by ', your prosperity will continue to increase, for the Maori forms a part of the British j Empire which is valuable not only to the Empire itself, but also to the world. j ! "As the result of my visit among you : to-day I shall ever carry with me the ! ; memory of your great Maori rare. I am ; delighted to see your beautiful country l and your hot springs, which are similar , to what we have in Japan, and on my ' return there I shall he pleased to tell my ! people of this visit, and of the kind wel- ! come you have given me. Kia ora. ! (Cheers") i Hosts and Guests Exchange Presents.

I j The admiral and the official pakehas | ; crossed the marac now and shook bauds i i with their Maori hosts. There followed a i graceful poi dance by some twenty of the ' ' younger wahines, who were subsequently j i joined by one or two Maori matrons, who j were carried away by their feelings. When | the dance was at an end the dancers ad- j i vanced to the centre of the enclosed space j and divesting themselves of their flax and rami ■■> mats laid them at the admiral's feet, j flinging on to the heap also their poi balls, i Mita I'aupopoki afterwards advanced, and, j , • after demonstrating to the admiral how j '■ I to wear a mat in war and in peace, took i , ■ off his own. a resplendent thing of white I , ; fibre. _ and handed it to his guest. The j ; I Maoris loudly expressed their pleasure as I , j the admiral added the mat to his attire. ■ j Not to be outdone in generosity, the ) J '■ admiral presented to Mita for his people . ; several copies of pictures of the famous ] i Japanese mountain Fusi. This done, Mr. ■ Russell thanked the Maoris on behalf of ( ! the Government for their splendid recep- i : tion of the Japanese visitors. The formal proceedings at the pa closed j with cheers for the Japanese Navy, and ; the singing of the British and Japanese t I national anthems by hosts and guests re- { j spectively. " " * Japanese Go Sight-seeing. J I Released from the formality of the l i gathering at the pa. the naval party, each J I unit in the hands of a native guide, or of I l one of the townspeople, went the rounds ; of_ the sights at Whakarewarewa. The | s ! \\ airoa geyser was soaped, but proved! s ' unwilling to play. Nevertheless, the : - ' sailors displayed the keenest interest in ] ' their surroundings. Many of them were j , ! busy with cameras, some donned Maori ! ' ; mats and other trophies, and went hand ; - | in hand with their guides from the boiling ! * pool to steaming geyser. All were in- j 1 I terested, all seemed supremely content, ] i i and all were impressed by what they saw. j t 1 There was diving from the bridge for pen- I t | nies by the Maori boys and girls, who reaped ! , ; a harvest. The party then re-entered the j - . waiting vehicles, and were taken to Ohine- | ( , muf.i, and here the natives welcomed the I < ! visitors and stood aside while they in- t I spected the wharepuni and the chapel. j The monument of Queen Victoria, and the ; ! pools in which billies of tea and potatoes 1 i were merrily boiling. { The Japanese by now had become most ] I friendly with the Maoris, and all of them i j displayed great interest in the children, i I From Ohinemutu they went first to the i i K'ng George V. Convalescent Home, and 1 , thence to the Sanatorium. They displayed ■* I warm regard for the wounded soldiers, who .' j were lined up under Colonel Newell. C.8., ! a i shaking hands with many and staying for ! a while beside the cots of the worst cases. Finally, the naval men were taken to the i baths, those preferring it being permitted to wander round the town for half an hour * :or so. Mr. B. M. Wilson, general mana- j ' ' ger of the Tourist Department, who was ' iin charge of the arrangements at Rotorua. '' '; took all pains to see that the guests missed ' | nothing that was worth seeing. ' i The visitors were provided with dinner '' \at the two hotels at 5.30 p.m., and an ' hour later left on the return journey to ' Auckland. There was a crowded attend- ' ante of townspeople on the platform to '' see them off. and at the instance of Mr. : Russell they loudly cheered the Admiral ( ; and his men as the train rolled out of the I ' j station.