DISTRESS AMONG THE MAORIS.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLII, Issue 114, 15 May 1908, Page 7

DISTRESS AMONG THE MAORIS.

AN APPEAL FOR HELP

According to a correspondent of the Auckland Herald, the Maoris of the Waikato and King Country have to face severe distress in the winter season. Last winter, from'Huntly down to the Heads, the natives were in a bad way. As the result of what he saw on a visit to the Waikato, he was induced to collect clothes and food for them, and sent down several sacks full for distribution. Out of 23 children* born at Orton, between Mercer and Churchill, the winter before last, the correspondent stated that 21 died. This mortality was largely due to cold and exposure, and to want of food. Last winter, again, many, of .the natives, owing to the floods, were well; nigh drowned, and several more of their children died. Following the floods, the Staple food product of the natives—the potato —on which they so largely depend, was a failure last season, so that now, at the beginning of another winter, the Maoris are faced with the problem of how to live.