LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 255, 21 July 1908, Page 4

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

MAORIS IN jNDIA AND ASSAM. Sir, —When, as representing tho Now Zealand Institute, I welcomed the Maori Congress to Wellington, and asked them to send to it their legends and karakias and details of their customs to bo embalmed for futuro use, I said there wero Maoris in India and Assam. Your , reporter miscaught tho word, and mado it Africa. I could not allow this to go uncontradicted. Wo have trackcd tlio widespread, roving Maoris l'rom New Zealand to Easter Island, Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, Motu in New Guinea, . W Timor Island. There aro Maoris living still in Pulo Nias, Mantawai, and other islands west of Sumatra. Tho more highly aryanised Nugas of Assam are Maoris, and tlioro are Maoris in India. v Further afield, tho Hovas of Madagascar, aro an allied race —cousins of Maoris. Lying west of Madagascar are somo small islands, Comoro (Koinoro) between it and tho coast of Africa. Mr. Percy Smith discovered that theso people of Komoro Islands call themselves Mahori or Maori. Now Zealand libraries aro small, and ivo know nothing moro about tho Mahori of tho Comoro Islands. If thoy bo puro Maoris, tbat .is tho nearest they are to Africa. This Congress, and tho beautiful entertainments'given by tho Maoris, aro:delightful to those of us who tliiiik the Pakeha should know, moro of this splendid race. Many of us wish tho public would become, moro friendly with tlio Maoris, but we aro shy, and they art) proud. Lot us make advances. Maoris aro such charming highbred people. When a few years ago I asked a Maori man and woman to my house people wero amazed, but my guests wore charmed with them. Why. should we not do moro of this? Why should not we ask them to, our houses? Tho great majority of Maoris understand English. May I ask Wellington people to try tho experiment; I am sure thoy will. bo, charmed with their guests.. When a Maori'lady visited London she was entertained by tho King and tlio Priiico of AValos and by the nobility. ' Surely, some of us could ask Maoris to our homes— it would bo our best proof of friendship. Maoris entertain us in their houses. When thoy come to Wellington, do we ever ask them iliside our doors ? ' Surely men like Mr. .Ngata, Mr. Hone Hcke, Rev. Mr. Bennett, Dr. Buck, Dr. Pomare, and many others, and, tho charming, high-bred Maori women aro fit to mix with any society in tho world. —I am, etc.,. ■ July 18. ALFRED K. NEWMAN. ROUCH FOOTBALL. Sir,—l am pleased to soo that my letter re rough play, in your issue-of July 7, has at least set two people thinking—one Mr. Hunter, an ex-Rugby Union Committee-man, and the other "Progressive." Mr. Hunter's letter speaks for itself, and should commend itself to every lover of "clean play"; for mo to comment thereon would be to paint tho lily. "Progressive accuses ino. of an attempt at facetiousness, becauso . I suggested that "hefty blacksmiths"' and "highly trained colliers" should bo sent out with the next British team in order to withstand the gruelling all teams get out here. If the suggestion is an attempt at facetiousness, then I am guilty, but 'twas far from my intention to bo so. "Progresisve" brushes aside my statement that the visitors are "black and blue from tho waist down," as tho result of their treatment (not in tho Test Match, but in matches played previously), with tho remark that it "is unworthy of attention," but, by so doing, ho does not dispute tho fact, nor can ho do 'so. But 1 am-not out to break a lance with "Progressive,", because ho is, a writer with whom, on his ideas of rough play, I am entirely in agreement, for does ho not -say' "rough play has of late, increased alarmingly," and "there is little doubt that if a decided the unyielding stand was taken, a yoar or so would seo its completo. eradication." : Tl'js is where wo all agree. Tho' Editorial blue pencil on, my previous letter prevented my suggestion for a remedy forestalling "Progressive." , I. then wrote, And where lies,tho remedy ?It .is in the hands of tho <of -.'tho . 'Rugby Union Committee.; The, referees- should be .firmer,' and report mprq freely. At present,wo have a' spineless committed, who, "stand down". a player for two 'Saturdays when 'ho is'caught in. the' gentle art of "boxing" on tlio field. Let a few men go up for life, and the lesson will be quickly learnt., Lot "Progressive" and others help along tho "clcan gamo" cnisado, and theii .we can look for a, better condition of things.—l am, etc., ALL. BLOOD. Wellington, July .14. ■,'THE BIRTH-RATE." Sir, —I have been curiously waiting in connection with this matter,, to see whether someone would not draw attention to what is little short of a public scandal, and whiijh most thinking men will admit, is one of tho if, not the greatest cause of our national peril. While, -legislators are worrying about Bills - for stopping tho sale of l certain preventative goods, thoy overlook one of the prime factors which compel people to seek such, viz., the high fees demanded by tho medical profession of this, and other, citios in the Dominion. in tho, country parts of Scotland, among tho working classes, the charge for confinement fees a few' years ago (and I believe still obtains) was seven-and-sixpence,, and ( this covered two, three, or more visits. In God's . own country the charge is £5 55., and, togotlier with'our State manufactured'nurse's fees for a fortnight, work out at £11 lis. This, sir, will continue, and our birth-rato decline ■ unless. some-patriots who recognise the manual labourer and th' 6 working man as tho backbone of. our race, will demand, in the namo' of God and Humanity, rolease from tliese high medical fees, and tho Government to talco action in our most vital of air interests—tho national existence. —I am, etc., NATIVE BORN AND FATHER OF FOUR. July 14. " '

LABOUR AND FARMERS' UNION. . Sir,—Wo find at the present time two distinct Unions .in New Zealand: the Labour or Industrial Union and tho Farmers' Union, llioso who had control of tho late land legislation attempted by Hon. ; 11. M'Nab, °although no doubt they were not capable of knowing, wore acting in direct opposition to tho farming class, who are the producers pf this Dominion, and without whom tho Dominion could not get on.. Tho very labour unions who liavo _ tried to pass legislation opposed to tho interests of .tho producers arc at this moment dependent on .tlioso producers for.'their ability to make a living. It is poor policy to quarrel with ;,o.ur beasts of burden—that is what the -farm'-' 'ere are under existing legislation.' If this t Dominion is to bp a good place to emigrato to and live in, all this foolishness of ono , class attempting to legislate for self without tho' slightest consideration for the backbone of; commerce, trade, and labour' must bo stopped. Tho farmers allowed the labour unions to pass legislation to help their workers ' do away with-sweating and unfairness, although if they had,acted as tho.labour unions have no such legislation was possible, as tho producers are in tho majority. Now, owing to ; ropoatod attempts by tho Government to pass land and otlior laws unsuitable to• tho wolfaro ' of, producers, thoso. producers liavo united, and : at next election 'will show this Dominion that they can and will'voto for a 'purpose, and that When tho country is ruled by tho best educated and most capable and: intelligent class, prosperity will follow. Thoso, producers have patiently plodded on like working bullocks, through mud impassable to townspeople half tho year, away out in tho wild brick-blocks; no roads, no mail, no telephone, packing thoir wives and families out to tents and ponga wharcs; through mud, along narrow precipitous tracks among treeroots and- supplejacks, where showers of water fall from the trees on tho tire'd, mudGpattercd travellers in rainy weather. Thoso who liavo sat in our Parliament for tile most part have seldom left tho pavements, electric cars, railwaj cjrs, and steamers or motorcars. Yot wo find such hot-house plants dictating to thoir friends., who - live out in the open. — Like the working bullock or the British : Lion, formers are docile and quiet when not

roused, but in this case some indiscreet parliamentarians have "stood right on his tail" and made him think. As soon as a body' of men start to think,- thoy are starting out to fix things, as we all know thought to be the force at the back of all action, that without thought) we can do nothing, not oven lace our boots. Now, these' fanners have come to see they have not been treated fairly, and when trouble comes, as they aro all used to, getting right over it to the other side, so now that they want fair play they arc going the right way to get it. The only truo. solution of this position is that each union must learn enough to know that if it gets what suits its own work it has dono well. Farmers don't want to interfere with labour laws (only the Arbitration Act as at present legalised), and if the Labour members quit interfering'with land tenure or county elections, and a few other monstrosities in the shape of attempted legislation, thoy will get 011 all right; but if not, the owners and workers of this Dominion's products will stick together as one man.—l am, G. H. MACKENZIE. July 13. Opar&u Branch N.Z.F.U. SITE FOR PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS. Sir,—l noticed with pleasure a letter in Monday morning's "Dominion respecting the idea of having Parliamentary Buildings placed on one- of tho suitable sections between Wadestown and Creswick. Wadestown is the best. si'iburb in the Wellington district, and Creswick, with Karbri, is a good second. ■ Then why not approach Sir Joseph. AVard 011 the subject of having a Parliament House worthy of Wellington, and placed where' peoplo are allowed to breathe fresh air, have a' lovely view, and, to cap all, "in these lazy times/ but a short distance to come from the city,_ the spot mentioned being accessible either via Wadestown or Karori. .'Hoping that the authorities will take a note, of this letter and that before it,—l am, etc., July 16. R.A.H. OATH-TAKING. Sir,—The deferment of my letter 'on the above is amply compensated .in the opportuneness of its publication in company with the Hon. Mr.. M'Gowan's pronouncements. It is quito clear now that the befogment of tho atmosphere, of justice pomes from headquarters, for nothing could be mor6 atrocious than Sir. M'Gowari's idea that tho appointment of the Official Assignee should depend upon tho number of his friends.—l am, etc;, July 16. / / HENRY BODLEY. NATIVE AFFAIRS. Sir, —A fow lines in connection with Maori legislation and tho Maori M-P-'s- I would like you to publish in your paper at your earliest conveuienSe. ' This Native .land question has been staring us in' the face for a long .time now, and it is about time something was done to mako tho Maori land laws workable.' • It has been the v causo of a considerable amount of inconvenience, expense, aud dissatisfaction to us. .1 includo'myself, being a half-caste and having a 'little property; so also has. my wife; but under present state of affairs will almost cost more than tho land is worth to get straightened up. And unless/ something.'.is dono very shortly I am at a loss 'to know what wiit happen. As • far as I can see, we have our own Maori members to. thank for this beautiful muddle. Only think 1 . Sovcn'men in Parliament, two M.L.C.!s and five M.P.!s,,to represent us v . and see that , most things arc •done to the satisfaction' of tho race thoy. xaro supposed to represent! . I don't - say they are all the same, but-the majority of. them are only heard of when there "is a big "Hui" about and when thero is'.a .lot of useless talking. ;. They-fairly revel in that,'and are simply worshipped ■ by the unfortunate . ones whom/they represent. . This, 'sortiof thing is no, good, but' if' left alone -will always, bo the same'. I hope ; the day;will, soon come when'tliero will be an- opposition Maori party, and it won't'bo my fault if this, is not so before very shortly.—l am, etc:, • - GEO.-A. M'GREGOR. '^Greytew#3;' , 'Jfily, &•'*. :'v • . .. f ~„. k"!NG:' P BX*ckWARD. ; ./ read with,'.great, interest , .your ar-ticle-appearing in'last- Monday's issue. "Looking Backwardsj''!'etc'. It is certainly a most'; interesting... comparison/,' although there are soyeral points you seem to'have overlooked.* Tho actual cost,of tho nccessitios of.life,was certainly very high,, and'cannot bo'taken.too mtich as a comparison of present day cost of same to the workers,. considering; they were, a, very small body. . The population of Wellington was between two and three thousand, and money being scarce, labour was given in exchange for all kinds of necessities as tho caso .might be. Even , as'late' as 1850 this samo system was in vogue, as instanced; by. an advertisement: appearing' in 'tho "Wellington' Independent" ; of March 13 of that year: —"A person wishing to raffle fifty acres of land at the' Upper Hutt; fivo prizes of ten acres; tickets one pound each,' adding that sawn timber or Hutt produce will be taken in lieu or money. . ' Another item, you do not mentiontho import duties were very-low,-as given in attached extract* One -other' important factor of the . present high cost , of living is "rent of houses." You certainly admit rent was low in the old days! ' The earliest authentic rocord. I have, to hand in my collection of old papers is" in reference, to-a house,; situate in Herbert Street, described-as a freehold brick residence, ■ well finished insido and' out, in tho occupation of Dr. Hansard, and let at a rental of £26 per annum." This was dated February, 13j 18-17, and in comparison 75 per, cent, below present rentals, at least. -, Referring to' the "New Zealand Gazetto and Wellington Spectator" of February 14, 1844; two years later than tho 0110 you tako your information from, we find prices have gone down considerably, also again in 1847. I give a. few of the .prices being respectively for 1844 and 1847; In 1844:—Bread, per. 21b. loafy, sd. t-o 6d., in 1847 at 4d.;.flour, per ton of 20001b.,' £20 to £22, and £13 '10s. to £15; butter, Irish,. 9d.. to Is. per lb., salt, Is. 4d., fresh, Is. Gel.; cheo'se, Cheshire, Is. 4d; to Is. 6d.; cheese, pineapple, Is. 2d.; cheese/Dutch, Bd. to"10a.; cheese, New Zealand, Is. 6d.: Candles,. English, wax,. 2s. 3d. per lb.; candles, mouJd,. 6d.; candlcs, dips, 5d.; beef, fresh ; Bd. to lid. per lb. 111 1844, and Sd. to 9d. 111 1847; mutton, carcass, 7d. to 9d.' per- lb. in 1844, and-7d./to lOd." in 1847 ; .pork, carcass, 4d. per lb. in. 1844, and 4d. in 1847; eggs,. Is. ; 63. per dozen in: 1844, and Is! Gd. to 2s. in 1847; sheep, 15s; to'2ss. each; potatoes at £4 to,£6,per ton, : New Zealand; hams,' Yorkshire,. sd. to 7d. per lb. j. hams, New Zealand, od. ,per lb.: bacon',, 6d. to 7d. jier lb,; milk, 2d. per pint; to--bacco, in bond, Is. 6d. to ls. : 9d. per lb. / , These ,aro the most important; items, although my lists contain, many more. Duty on tobacco was Is. per lb. manufactured, and 9d. not. ■ General imports .including tea, sugar, flour; and wheat, 5 per-cent., and all foroign.productions, and manufacturers id per cent, ad valorem. : Wages in 1841 aro given as .for labourers 3s. to ss. per day, al'id mechanics 6s. to-Bs. per day, . and certainly with those wages and tho prices given above the workers were in a better position than to-day. as I 'think can bo -plainly seen by anyono interested, in. the same. Trusting you will think this of sufficient interest to publish, and thanking yon for. samo—l am,-etc., .. July; 15. W.A.EDWARDS. "IS LIFE WORTH LIVING?" Sir,—l noticed ill your Church column a few days ago . that the Rev. J. J, . North preached a sermon upon tho abovo subject, and invited his congregation, after the servico (note how old associations cling around quito incongruous surroundings), to givo their views upon, the subject. What was said both in tho ■ sermon _ and tho ..discussion that followed was quito- truo, but not tho whole truth. There is an instinct in our na'turo demanding us to preserve our individual lives, oven at tho cost of great ,pain. Had the roverond gentleman forgotten thoso words in tho book of Job, chapter 2, verso 4 : "Skin for' skin, yea all that a man hath will he giro for his life." Did he. require a modern concrete example of tho existence of such an instinct, ho has, it, in another column of tho samo date of issue, where you relate the incident of the rabbiter who set out from Nasoby and was overtaken by a snowstorm. That man evidently thought "life was worth living," and there was 11-0 question of altruism there.—l am, etc., • July lo- /JACOBUS, '.i