BACK TO THE LAND

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 219, 12 June 1933, Page 10

BACK TO THE LAND

Spirit of Maori Race NATIVE SETTLEMENT Tribal Rivalry Fostered KEEN EAST COAST FARMERS Native land settlement movements in various parts of the North Island and the part they are playing in bringing about a revival of the culture and traditions of the Maori people were discussed by ttie ,Mmister of Native Affairs, Sir Apirana Ngata, on Saturday. The sp'rit of tribal rivalry and better undeistanding fostered as a result oi reciprocal visits between parlies from the settlement schemes was commended by the Minister. I - visits to the Maori « ;o > um “" , ‘ , ®? lo ha ' s ! convinced Sir Apirana that the as sisting of the Maori peonle to util se their lands i n a y effec* ' manner will do more than anytniiu else to promote a solution of • and economic diflicnlt.es peculiar to the native race. SfS »as rear. tering the schemes had been e “ co ’ ng and promoting interchange of visits between leading men interested in these land development movements s n? to promote a better understanding of the policy, and a certain amount ot publicity work had been found necessary because the Maori communities lacked the means of community piopaganda. The isolation of some of the Native communities had had to be broken down, and misunderstandings and difficulties arising from movements such as the Ratana movement had had to be removed. The Upper Wangnnul Maoris were an instance of isolation. One of the most important schemes was at Banana, just below Pipiriki. It had been found in other Maori movements'that when the opportunity offered of comparing notes with those engaged in similar activities in other districts there was a clearer understanding among the leaders, a spirit of emulation and tribal rivalry was engendered, and the work proceeded with greater keenness. The first big interchange of visits took place in July, 1932, when the Native Lands Department selected about 30 delegates from all parts of the North Auckland district to visit Rotorua and the Bay of Plenty districts. They saw all the work on the pumice land at Ruatoki, Opotiki, and Te Kaba. Incidentally they caught some of the spirit of the .Maori tribes in that district, and tile successful efforts they had made to retain elements of their native culture, as exemplified in carved meetinghouses, ceremonial dances, and purity of Maori speech and Maori poetry. Patrons of Education. In the Rotorua, Bay of Plenty and East Coast districts, Sir Apirana continued, the Maori tribes bad been the greatest patrons of education and had made the greatest progress in acquir ing the knowledge and business methods of the pakeha, particularly 'as applied to the farming of land. At the same time tribes had sought to maintain, in spite of the inroads of civilisation, those elements of Maori culture whch were thought necessary to maintain their individuality and self-respect as a Maori people. The effect of the visit of the North Auckland delegates might be seen in the greater keenness and enthusiasm he had noted during a recent visit to the north, and also in the desire expressed by all their leaders to revive some of the old culture and to reorganise the villages and maraes somewhat on the lines of those of the districts they had visited at Rotorua and in the Bay of Plenty. The Minister also noted that not only was there less opposition among the communities known to be adherents of the Ratana movement, but in the Kaipara, Inner Hokiauga and Kaikohe districts the greater majority of Ratana adherents asked that their lands might be brought under the native land development schemes. Delegation From Kanann. Sir Apirana said that a smaller delcgation under Mr. Joe Marumaru from the Upper Wanganui representing the Manana development scheme accompanied Mr. Tau Henare, M.P. for Northern Maori, and Mr. Taite Te Tomo, M.P. for Western Maori, in April last on a visit to the Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, and East Coast districts. Mr. Henare had not been able to accompany the delegation from his electorate in July of last year, and be had taken this opportunity of acquainting himself with the conditions and the peoples and lands in his, the Native Minister’s, own electorate. Mr. Te Tomo, who typified the great majority of Maori tribes of the Western Maori electorate, was already a familiar figure in the Eastern Maori district, but had not hithertofore addressed himself to the special aspect of the native land question connected with the native land development schemes on the East Coast. Ho represented for the most part particularly those tribes whose attitude and outlook were clouded by the resentment arising out of the confiscation of lands in tlie Waikato and Taranaki districts. In the Waikato district, in the King Country, on the Wanganui River, and throughout the Manawatu, around Lake Taupo and at Thames and Tauranga, the tribes he represented had, particularly in the last twelve months, been compelled by circumstances to consider very seriously the desirability of applying the new system of native land settlement to their lands, but there had been much debating up and down the electorate and a considerable section alleged to be under the leadership of the Ratana adherents were suspicious and hostile. Mr. Te Tomo sought among the tribes of the Eastern Maori electorate for the assistance and encouragement which could only come from a close view of the work, ideals, and spirit of the Maori tribes there. Beneficial Reactions. “It is,” said Sir Apirana, "for my Maori colleagues in the House who have had the opportunity of seeing the schemes in operation in portion of my electorate to say how these impressed them, and what lesson, if any, the lands and ideas of my people might have for them and fhe Maori tribes which they represent. I have it from Mr. Marumaru and similar Wanganui delegates who accompanied the members of Parliament that the reactions upon them and the people on the Wanganui River have been most beneficial. They feel they are no longer isolated, but that they 'are an important unit in a large scale racial effort to make reasonably good use of some of the lands that remain to them. “Last month I was able to take >i small party of East Coast, Bay of

Plenty ami Rotorua representatives to return the visit made by Mr. Tau Henare and other representatives of his district. What impressed my own people most was the tremendous enthusiasm shown by every Maori community throughout the north, not only with regard to the development and farming of their lands, but also in the revival of the arts and the poetry and traditions of the northern tribes. They had to acknowledge that no section of the Maori people deserves more assistance than that which inhabits the northern districts, that nowhere is there such a keen response to the call of the time for production at the lowest possible cost.” Social Difficulties, The sanitation aspect was also referred to by Sir Apirana. “My visits to the Maori communities in various parts of the Dominion during my term as Native Minister,” he said, “have shown that as a matter of practical politics the assisting of Maori people to use their lands in a reasonably effective manner will do more than anything else to promote a solution of social and economic difficulties. “A very small proportion of them is maintained from land rents. A larger, but still a small proportion, is incorporated in the industrial life of fhe country, but tlie great majority must depend for the necessaries of living, in a civilised country alongside tlie vigorous pakeha, upon the use and effective output of land. “Tlie demand is abroad that he should be put on the same footing as the pakeha in every respect. Tills is quite right in principle, and all Governments have in the past in various ways done (heir best to approach the ideal. Perhaps full allowance has not been made for racial differences, and special circumstances in the history of New Zealand since colonisation began. Practical differences are apparent to anyone who has been around. The Maori leaders on the other hand have never been satisfied that the State has done all that should have been done to make the conditions and opportunities equal. This is best exemplified in the belated assistance now given by the State from loan fund securities on the credit of the Dominion for the development of native lands under State supervision, and so administered as to develop at the same time what capacity there may be in the most apt individuals of the race to farm their lands according to pakeha standards.”