LANDLESS NATIVES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2126, 27 February 1908, Page 2

LANDLESS NATIVES.

FARMING NOT SUITABLE FOR MAORIS. Press Association. AUCKLAND. Feb. 26. The future of the landless native was discussed by the Te Aute Conference at Orakei, when Mr. W. Banks, of Te Kuiti, in tlio course of a paper on the subject, said that the time had now come when tho question was asked., What has been -done for the landless Maoris? After long years of studying the Maori character, he was in -a position to say that handicraft was the most congenial work for the Maori. His works of old, such as canoe-building, carving, songs, etc., showed he was a lover of the beautiful, and also a handicraftsman. Farming was not -a- congenial work for him, and the best thing to do was to place the saw and the blacksmith’s hammer into his hands, and then he would soon invent tilings which he would be proud of. If even he failed with the timber from the yard, he could go to the bush, and by means of the saw-pit obtain what he wanted. He did not mean to say that farming was not suitable for some Maoris but he did not agree with Mr. Ngata’s idea of advocating farming as the most suitable occupation for the Maori.

Commenting on the paper, Dr. Buck wished to point out that the Maori, by heredity, had as much respect for the land as for manual labor. He quite agreed with the paper, that the .Maori was a craftsman by nature.

Pine Tamahori gave some figures to give the members an idea of the spread of the farming movement. There were, he said, no less than 22 fairly large Maori sheep stations on the coast between Tokomaru Bay and To Araroa, and four of the wooUsheds had the latest improved shearing machines.