The Press.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 10886, 1 July 1899, Page 6

The Press.

'; -;> SATURDAY; JULY I, 1899. THE UPLIFTING OF THE MAORL vll \ '. - ( . • ~- /^||| We halve from time to.time published par of the work being. by thb To Ante, College AssooiatWn, with the jecfc of improving tiae .moral.and sanitary \%| condition of the Maori race, educating them,, and, if possible, saving them from the extinction with - which they seem to' be *&£ threatened. . Some interestingdetails "of the, If|; coiistitutiott and aims of the; Association were recently given in our "Literary gM <*uumn" by Mr. Thornton, the -Secretary - & >to the body., Our readers' will, no doubt, ${j interested to learn that Mr. SfcA,, formerly of Canterbury College, has *ji .appointed travelling secretary to the, £g| Association, and has 'started .on the work of visfcjnng the native settlements, with a v|| view *o'\mculca*»ng the-reforms which "tie Hj| Association nas in view. Mr. Ngata and - -|| Mr. Thornton went to Wellington at the ~|j beginning of the session, with the hope of ~g enlisting the sympathy of (Ministers in the \';|| movement, and, '"if possible, getting a grant ' in aid from the Mfcbri Civil List. The pro-.. J| gramme laid down eeems to us to be conceived on very rational lines, and to be ,-§| well worthy of Government support. To Yjg improve the health of the Maori the Association are endeavouring to educate the \Yp natives into draining their pas and venti- *|. Tating their houses. They have already y-; succeeded, after some little difficulty, in ? K getting some of them to introduce a little If ventilation into their large meeting houses. «F Ordinarily these buildings have one door and one window, and people go,as far as to say that after a meeting has been held it : t takes .nearly a month before the atmosphere <■> in the raulding becomes perfectly fresh and J ■ sweet once morel It was by no means an /$ easy task to get the natives to agree to ,vl put in additional windows, so as to secure '\i\ more effective ventilation. There are cer- "-f. tain Maori traditions as to the way in which ,7 a house should be built. There should be i| a certain number of "heke" (rafters) —cor- O tainly not thirteen, which would be a very p unlucky number. So, too, it was thought that if a window were placed at tbe back ;f of the building evil would follow. , Certain ,*J 1 staunch old conservatives consequently held '\ out against additional windows as dangerous -Vand new-fangled innovations! To this it ~5 1 was replied that the Maoris had adopted X corrugated iron for their roofs, European ~H j flooring, even European* carpeta, and no bad r ' consequences had followed. Therefore it was urged that the European fashion as to I windows might also be -observed, not only i \ without evil results, but with advantage. •& The eloquent, arguments of the younger V, generation of Maoris ultimately prevailed, ' '-- and it is to-be hoped that in other respects '4 they will be equally successful in spreading ;? more enlightened views. - ,; The efforts of £he Association to spread higher education and technical training among the natives are also to be commended. \" They have already succeeded in getting $ facilities for the training of young Maoris '■: for the medical profession. There are scholarships to assist young natives who T have done well in the primary and secondary schools to go on to the University, and the -' Government have consented, in promising cases, to supplement the grant so as to.meet ~ the increased expenses of taking the ||. medical course. A few Maori girls are also % being trained as nurses, and it is hoped that if a few native qualified medical men and nurses were distributed among the Maori settlements, the result would'be most beneficial, not only in treating cases of illness, but in putting down the superstitious practices of the tohungas, and in spreading true principles of sanitary science. The ' > efforts of the Association also extend to >; teaching trades, as well as training for the N ; , learned professions. They are especially „.| anxious to get Maori youths trained as blacksmiths, saddlers, and,carpenters, these J being primitive occupations much in demand in the earlier stages of a settlement. Maori boys show great aptitude for work of this kind, and are specially clever, it is said, in { picking up tho saddlery business. If the -7 . Maori race is to be saved at all it will be \ necessary for them to take their share in the world's work, and to adopt enlightened - views as to sanitary requirements. The Association, in addition, aims at raising them on a higher plane morally, as well as physically, and- we wish it every success in its efforts.