The Press FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1934. The Waitangi Celebrations

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21085, 9 February 1934, Page 8

The Press FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1934. The Waitangi Celebrations

It is not likely that Dr. Campbell Begg's protest against the expenditure of " so much public money " the total amount voted by Parliament is £s7oo—on the Waitangi celebrations will arouse any wide sympathy. Nor is it easy to understand his contention that the celebrations have no real historical significance. True, they do not coincide with the centenary of the signing of the treaty; but they do mark its anniversary and they are a fitting commemoration of the handing over of the Waitangi site to the nation. Moreover, the gathering has a wider purpose than to revive the memory of what is past and done with. As the discussions and speeches at Waitangi have shown, the future of the Maori race and of its relations with the European inhabitants of New Zealand bristles with social and economic problems which will be solved only if there are goodwill and tolerance on both sides. The land problem, for instance, which has always been the core of the relationship between Maoris and Europeans, is in many respects even more complex and difficult now than it was a century ago. It is impossible to read certain passages in the reports of the Unemployment Board and the recent report of the commission of enquiry into rating on native lands without realising that the development of these lands is not progressing as it should and that far-rcaching changes are necessary in the existing system of Maori land tenure. The Treaty of Waitangi, whatever its defects, secured the Maoris in the possession of their lands and guaranteed them against exploitation; and whatever changes are made in the future must be based on the treaty and governed by its spirit. It is there/ore no waste of time or money to celebrate the signing of the treaty and to reaffirm its pledges, for there is no surer way of indicating to the Maori people that reforms will be introduced with their consent and for their good.