THE MAORI CONTINGENT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXV, Issue 8206, 2 August 1915, Page 7

THE MAORI CONTINGENT.

BRITISH SOLDIER'S ACCOUNT

EAGERNESS FOR ACTION

WELLINGTON, August 1

An English paper, the Rotherham " Advertiser," of Juno 5, contains a letter from-Private ■W. Ridgway, of the London Regiment at Malta, an exschoolmaster, in which some references are' made to the Maoris.

"The boys at the school," he writes, "will be very much interested to know that I have seen some real live Maoris. On Wednesday we operated, in conjunction with three other battalions, one of which was the Maori battalion. _ We marched to a place in Malta six or seven mile's away, and when we arrived there the Maoris were already there, and were having tea. On our approach they stopped their meal and stood at attention until we were in our places ready for tea. They looked a. fine lot of fellows, and I felt glad they were on our side, and not against us, and I i must confess to an added souse of security after having seen them.

! "On the average. I think wo nrc I slightly taller than they, but they have I more brawn and sinew than we have. As wo marched past one of our fellows i said, ' They will think wo are a puny lot,' and I agreed. They arc remarkably well made, and very athletic. They skip over the rocks very lightly. We saw one man do a. long jump with his full pack on. Their skins are very dark, and their hair is black and curly, I but they have all the ' culture' of the Englishman. They speak English quite as well ns we do, for most of them have had a college education, and are quite wealthy. A New Zealander, not a Maori, with whom I spoke told me that when he reached Egypt he had £40 in his possession and had £10 Army pay due to him. He said that many of thorn had £100, and some even £150, with them. Another said that his greatest ambition was to be led into battle by an English officer. What an answer to the German lie that, our colonies are but loosely held, and that the Empire would go to pieces like a pack of cards ! "They will do anything for an Englishman, and the- men of tho I) Company said that during the week they spent at camp their (tho Maoris) greatest delight was to take them to the canteen and lavish their money on thorn. Lord Methuen reviewed them again on Thursday morning, and he wanted to Imow which of them wislied to do garrison duty and who wished to go to the front. Ho commanded all who wanted to do garrison duty to slope arms, nnd not one in tho whole 1 company sloped arms. That's loyalty indeed."