SOUTH ISLAND MAORIS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CVI, Issue 12696, 30 December 1901, Page 4

SOUTH ISLAND MAORIS.

An important gathering of Maoris will be held wn the other side of the Port Hills to-day, when the new public hall at Rapaki will be opened, in the presence rf Eatives from all pails of tbs> South IsJ. European visitors, of course, will L: welcomed, and should find the day's outing thoroughly enjoyable. These social gatherings of the Maoris give us. an oppor- , tunity of learning something of the picturesque and interesting old customs; of the Native race, customs which no longer have a place in their everyday life. To-day, we understand, will be given up completely to social functions and entertainment, but to- ■ morrow the assembled Maoris will discuss heavier fare, in the shape of the Maori Councils Act of 1900. This measure, it will be remembered, was designed to establish " some- simple machinery of local selfgovernment, by mea ; ris of which the Maoris may be enabled to frame for themselves I such rules and regulations on matters ol j local concernment, or relating to their social i economy, as may appear best adapted to I their own special wants." The law is I already in operation in the North Island. ! A " Maori district," proclaimed under the ! Act, may elect a. council of not fewer tha'ra six or more than twelve members, exclusive of a stipendiary magistrate, or some other person appointed by the Governor to be an "official member." The duties of these councils are extensive, for they are directed to "ascertain, provide and prescribe for the observance and enforcement of the rights, duties and liabilities, amongst themselves, of tribes, communities, or individuals of the Maori race, in relation to all social and domestic matters; to suppress injurious Maori customs, and to, substitute new remedies and punishments for injuries for those tolerated by those customs ; to promote education and instruction, ordinary and technical, and to supervise I the management of Native schools; and generally to promote the health and welfare and moral well-being of the Maoris." The councils must collect information concerning the health of the Natives, movei nients of population, marriages, industries, and so forth. They may anake by-laws to ■ enforce the cleansing of dirty houses aind I buildings in their districts, to suppress : common- nuisances, to prevent drunkenness j and sly grog-selling, to combat superstition, I to- govern the uss of tribal meeting-bouses, : to control and protect burial-grounds and I recreation grounds, and to suppress juvenile J smoking and evil habits among adults.

They may deal with the registration, of dogs, the branding of live stock, and the care of fishing grounds;. They are local boards of health also, entrusted with the drainage of pas and the general care of the health of the population in the localities under their charge. Subject to the approval of the Governor, a council may levy a tenement tax on houses and Native lands, so that it may have money with' which, to carry on its important works. The Act, as we have said before, is one of the wisest measures adopted by Parliament in recent years. Considerable difficulty has been experienced l in seme inland districts of the North Island, we believe, in inducing the Maoris to take advantage of its provisions, but Dr Po-mare, the Native Health Officer, and a few devoted workers are rousing their people to a sense of the „ position. Sanitation must necessarily be the first consideration of the councils in many districts, but- the South Island Maoris are xuidoubtedly -more advanced in this respect than their brothers of the North. They do not congregate in such great numbers in one locality, and they are brought daily into close contact with Europeans and European customs; but, even in the South Island the Act should be of immense benefit to the people. It gives them an opportunity of helping themselves in matters which they have hitherto been content to neglect, and we can see many directions in which a Native council could do very useful work at Wo-odend and little River, and in* even smaller settlements. This quickening of the Maoris' interest in their own welfare is on© of the most cheering signs of the times. and we hope that before many years are past they will be ready 'for the enjoyment of full self-governing rights.