WORKING TOGETHER

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 130, 6 June 1927, Page 10

WORKING TOGETHER

MAORI AND PAKEHA

A NOVEL CEREMONY

NATIVES AND MINISTERS

A distinctly pleasing and unusual ceremony took place at Parliament House to-day, when a party of Hawera Natives waited on the Prime Minister as Minister of Native Affairs, the Hon. Sir Maui Pomare, member of tho Executive representing the Native race, and the Hon. J. A. Young (Minister of Health) to convey greetings and good wishes from the Maoris of Taranaki. The party marched through Parliamentary Grounds, preceded by a number of poi dancers dressed in Native costume, with piu piu mats, amokura feathers, and poi balls —and chanted their way to the part of the Library wing occupied by Sir Maui Pomare. There the visitors' poi dances and other ceremonies were continued, and were followed by a brief speech by the leader of the party, whose remarks were interpreted by Zvlr. H. E. H. Balneavis, private secretary to the Minister of Native Affairs, as follows:— "PARENT OF THE PEOPLE." "Greetings to you, Mr. Coates, Prime Minister, the father of the orphau. We, your children, have come here to-day to see you, the father of the orphan, the children, and the Widow. We come from the wild to you, the parent of the people. We have come from the precincts of the swamps, and from the raupo growing in those swamps, to bring certain matters before you. We have , brought you the * young women who have come to dance to you. It is you who can grant them succour, and who will alleviate their troubles, and mend those that can bo mended. Greetings to you, Sir, and your satellite, Sir Maui Pomare, and others who are doing their best and what is right in the interests of the people. May you and your Government supporters long live. Kia ora." The Eight Hon. J. G. Coates cordially thanked the party for its very kindly and unrehearsed demonsti-atio?i of friendliness towards the head of the Government. He accepted the very encouraging words spoken by the leader of the party, both on his own behalf and that of his colleagues. In the official life of the Minister of Native Affairs and of the Prime Minister many things occurred to cause one regret, such as the passing of many of the old stalwarts, many of the old leaders and figureheads—the "totara trees"—of the Maori race. But it was pleasing to know that .there were others who were taking their places in doing their best to perpetuate the history, knowledge, and characteristics of the Maori, race, which the pakeha, over a long period of years, had learned to respect and to honour. RETAINING OLD CUSTOMS. "It is unnecessary for me to remind you," added Mr. Coates, "of the willingness and desire on tho part of New Zealanders to help you to progress, to develop your lands and your arts, and to retain all those desirable customs— I won't say all tho customs that our ancestors remember having seen when they first came to the country—but many of those desirable customs that are distinctive of your race, and that are fast becoming part and parcel of our atmosphere and our civilisation in New Zealand." Ho sometimes tried to think what New Zealand would be three hundred, four hundred, or five hundred, years hence, and in that connection said that one must be mindful of the years hence, and in that connection said that one must be miudful of tho important part that the Maori people would play in the country's destiny. The Maori, with his traditional integrity, his long and nable history, his gift of oratory, his poetic sense, and his strong physical and mental powers, was, along with the pakeha, helping to make the future of this country great. They were moving forward, and what their amalgamated efforts would produce, insofar as those things which affected this country, even tho world, were concerned, was a matter upon j which to conjure. There was no difference in their national outlook, because they were each as interested as tho other in the development and maintenance of the very high principles that both races possessed. They both had their troubles, but he sincerely trusted that they would continue to carry them bravely and with credit. "We want to help you, and we want you to help us," said the Prime Minister, "and the only way we can help one another is by accepting our responsibilities of citizonship and living so that our conduct wll be satisfactory to ourselves, our neighbours, and to the country." He thought the Government understood the Maori, mind—at any rate, it tried to understand it—and he hoped that with tho assistance of the Maori people they would be successful in leading the country along the path that w.ould bring prosperity and success to the Maoris. Sir Maui Poniare also thanked the party for the kind wishes that had been extended to him, as representative of the Native race in the Government. The poi dancers, after performing again, presented . their mats, feathers, and poi balls to Mr. Coates as a personal gift, and the Prime Minister expressed cordial thanks for the very fine spirit that inspired it. Appreciation was expressed by tho spokesman of tho party for the considerate remarks qf the Prime Minister in regard to the Maori people, especially in connection with the perpetuation of certain of the Maori customs and pastimes.