PRAISE FOR MAORIS

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 133, 29 February 1936, Page 9

PRAISE FOR MAORIS

Critical Time In History Reached LORD BLEDISLOE’S APPEAL (Received February 28, 5.5 p.m.) . London, February 27. Describing the Maoris as the most Interesting, . most attractive and potentially the most civilisable of the so-called native peoples of the world, Lord Bledisloe, in an address to the Dominions and Colonies section of the Royal Society of Arts, said that his five years’ sojourn in New Zealand had left him with the conviction that they had reached a crisis in their history which, in the absence of great understanding on the part of Britain, might eventuate in their irretrievable decadence if not their racial obliteration.

Lord Bledisloe appealed for the sympathy of their white co-partners, the British people of the Empire. He hoped that the New Zealand centenary four years hence might be characterised by the Maoris’ conviction that their future was assured, their equality of status'under British sovereignty unchallenged, and their mental and spiritual outlook understood and catered for in a national administration consistent with national progress and cultural development. Commenting on Lord Bledisloe’s address, “The Times” mentions the names of Sir Maui Pomare, Sir Apirana Ngata and Dr. Peter Buck as showing how many members of the Maori race are participating as citizens of New Zealand on terms of equality. Great promise for the continued regeneration of the Maori people from within lies in the ideal of a Maori national unity as distinct from the separate tribal organisation which they have fostered. “The Times” concludes. “While their forefathers wielded the war club or grew the sweet potato, some presentday Maoris display prowess at Rugby football and produce butter for London markets.”