ASSISTING THE MAORIS

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22201, 18 September 1937, Page 16

ASSISTING THE MAORIS

RECOGNITION OF FAMILY TRADITION VIEWS OF DUTCH NATIVE ADMINISTRATOR The view that the conception of the family as the unit of social organisatioTas held by the Maoris had necessarily to be taken into account many process of adapting them, to modern conditions was expressed in an interview yesterday by Dr A. D. A doKat Angelina who retired about three months ago from the position of chief of the Departments of Public Health and Public Education in the Dutcn East Indies, and is at present visiting Christchurch. With a wide experience of provision for the health and education of native peoples, he said that from his observations he considered that the Government in New Zealand was doing everything it could for the Maoris, but that a Government could not do everything. "The Maori conception of family life." he said, "does not make for any care for the future on the part of the individual. The family envelops the individual with its care, and does away with the idea of personal exertion which characterises the European. For this type of people it will be found that agriculture is the most suitable occupation, as being one in which all the members of the family can take part. Maoris will not be found suitable for business, where personal exertion is required. "Every Government will find a natural limit to its policy of assisting natives. If the Maoris are trained for trade or business they will find no happiness as long as the tradition of the family exists. The policy of the Government in enabling the Maoris to obtain well-developed land holdings is a good one. and the rest of their adaptation to European life, which must be slow, as they have had to make a jump of about 1000 years, will come in time." Dr. Angelino said that the methods of training the natives in the Dutch East Indies in modern hygiene were recognised as so satisfactory that a conference was being held there this year under the auspices of the League of Nations to study the record achieved Natives had to be educated in the subject, and the work was being done among adults and in the schools The education of the natives was carried out in special schools, where thev learned other native languages, but native and Chinese children were Dermitted to go to the Dutch schools if they wished to study European languages, and secondary education was also open to them. There was no ™i ™ distinction, and hi that the attitude to the natives was very much Zwtandf ** that t 0 the Maoris *New