THE MAORI.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 50, 28 August 1911, Page 2

THE MAORI.

SOME DISTURBING STATEMENTS. LAZINESS AND DISEASE. The reports of some of the enumerators engaged in connection" with the tak« ing of the Maori census do not appear to quite bear out the optimistic views of j the UnderSecretary as to the present, position of the native face. For instance, of Hokianga South tho | enumeratoi' say3i— - "I regret I cannot ' report any improvement in the indusI tnousness of the Maoris." The sub-enumerator for the Kawhia. County says: "I found, no sickness except ftt the Taharoa kaingas, wheafe there is a considerable 1 amount ftt the present time, ten persons having died within the) last three months. These settlements own several tohung&s, who, in my opinion, help very much towards malting up the death-roll. Generally speaking, the natives appear to be very indolent, not caring to go far ffofll their kaingas to seek work. I found very few who appeared to be making *ny effort-to better theif social conditions." DYING FAST. "The natives Are living in the same state, and dying at the same rate, or probably faster," reports the enumerator 1 for Tauranga, Rotorua, Taapo, Whaka-* tane, and Opotiki. He advises that competent persons should be sent among the Maoris to advise them on sanitary matters. "There is," ho adds, "fc» doubt in my mind that the fever (which was the cause of so many deaths) was caused by bad drinking water, and there is no doubfc also that the cause has not been removed, and that the epidemic Ifill breakout again shortly and take off another twenty or thirty of them, And th« Others will look on in the same hopeless way and wonder why. The same kind of thing is happening periodically in every kainga in the district. The high death-rate amongst infant* and children might also b* obviated to a considerable extent by teaching the Maori mothers how to properly care for their children. Given the same conditions, the deathrate amongst Europeans would be just as high." He adds:— "But why continue? All that I have said now has been said over and over again by others, and I am beginning to think that the position is almost hopeless— that the race is dying, and that all that can b© done now is to ttake things as easy as possible for them by seeing that they should not stiff e*' from actual hardship and starvation. They .should not be allowed to waste all their substance, and there is grave danger of this at the present time owing to the safeguards against the complete alienation of their lands having been to a large extent removed. There seems lo be a growing inclination amongst them to sell all they can-'-live for the present, and, let the future look after 1 ' EVILS OF THE TANGI. , *k« tangi, the Bub-.enumerator for Waiapti County days:— "This. Maori custom is carried on to an extravagant degree. Apart from the enormous con.-, eumptipn of food, which the relatives in, many mstaaeea could there is the presentation of money, Maori mats, etc. A tangi party constituted of tha tribes living round about Gisborne recently visited this district, and tho presents to the visitors in hard cash amounted to something in the vicinity of £200. Then there is the danger of contagion at 4 taagi. No matter what the deceased died from, the custom demands A tangi. To this causer ia "attributed the spread of diseases," The eub^numemtor for the Waikohu County makes th© following remark :— "In my opinion, the only way to increase and save the race from extinction or absorption i« to stop their • intermarriage with Europeans," though he had . previously stated that "a, remarkable feature- is that th© married natives With any European blood bear children more fruitfully than the full-blooded Maoris. NO INDUSTRY IN lIAWKES BAY. A somewhat pe&simietic note is- also struck by the Hawke* Bay 'subenumerator, who says :— " I am sorry, to say that everything points to 'no industry, 1 which means laziness. Most of those who have rents coming to them are quite satisfied, when the leases expire, to either sell or lease again for long terms, because they can depend on. the next shearing sea-son to supplement their incomes," "The Maori of to-day is neither a farmer nor an agriculturist," says the sub-enumerator for the Waipawa and Waipukuratt Counties. "The reason lies in the fact that he has no land under his immediate occupation. It id the same cry everywhere you go, 'We have leased the land to the pakeha.'" THE MAORI PROPHETER. A curious stor^ is' narrated by th« mib-enumerator for the Rangitikei County. "I might mention," he ea.y6, "that I was not received at the Maori propheter's pa at Parewanui. , When I paid my first visit there the natives got away into the bush; others would not give their names, saying that the Government had taken all the native lande, that the Maori mafia had gone, their rangatiras had all died, and now the Government was curious to know how many_ survived this great battle betweeh white and brown. Of course, I kept cool and explained the object of the census, but to no avail. J therefore left and returned a, few days after, again Without success, so I took their names from the Maori parson, Te Iwiora." THE STATE OF AFFAIRS IN THE SOUTH. Some important statements, are made by Mr. K. W. Bishop. S.M., reading the Maoris of the South 'lsland. "Of late years," he B ay«, "I have noticed with extreme regret a growing habit of excessive indulgence in alcohol in many districts Jin the island. I will not specify these, and I am glad to say that in some places there is nothing to find fault with in the matter of drinking. In those parts where tho habit has almost become a scandal, the excessive indiligence is mostly with the middle-aged women and the very young men. Recently some very bad cases were brought under my notice where several young men were the subjects of prohibition orders and repeatedly broke theif orders, ■ih'sy were really mere boys, one of >m - m • " eln S °nly sixteen years of age. rhie is most deplorable. When instructing my sub-enumerators I sent a circular to each one, asking him when he forwarded his returns to give me all possible information as to the drinking habits of the people. . The result has been somewhat interesting, and th© information ie thoroughly reliable. Some of the sub-enumerators, who are intimately associated with the Maoris, deplore the present condition of things, and appeal for something to foe done- to improve it, They recognise, as evcfy« .one must do, that it means utt« ruin to the race. Unfortunately, the fact that the women are able to get dfinfe, and to indulge m most unseemly carouses, , shows great demoralisation on the part of those who procure it for them, tt has been found very difficult to enforce the law prohibiting the supply of liquor to women. , 'Che men, and especially the young men, purchase it and convey it to lotiely spots where it can be consumed with impunity. Many of the more thinking Maoris, male and female, ore doing all they possibly can to mim-inii-e the evil. . FiVej-yono having the benefit of the race at heart will wi»h