The Marlborough Express. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. SATURDAY, JULY 18, 1908. MAORI DOMESTICS.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLII, Issue 169, 18 July 1908, Page 4

The Marlborough Express. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. SATURDAY, JULY 18, 1908. MAORI DOMESTICS.

The movement initiated by . Lady 1 Stout for training Maori girls for domestic service does, not altogether nv^et with the approval of" leading Maoris. A difficulty, perhaps not altogether -.unforeseen, has manifested itself at the outset. It is that Maori girls, the daughters of a proud race, are not likely to take kindly to an occupation which so many pakeha women regard as being beneath them, and which .so-many of* the class who would avail themselves of such assistance have always been accustomed t^ consider as degrading, and, be it said, haj-e themselves done,so much to degrade. One of the chief reasons why domestic assistance is so difficult to obtain is the contumely, the unkindness, and the utter want of consideration which are too frequently the' lot of the domestic. She has' from time injmemorial had the title of "slavey " bestowed upon her, and the Maoris have been quick to notice this, and they refuse to allow their daughters to become, as they put it, "slaves of the pakeha." The movement set on foot by Lady Stout is an excellent one, but it. requires' handling with caution, so as not to offend the susceptibilities •of the1 people concerned. A _ great, deal of tact is required to disabuse the Maori mind of the idea that native girls are considered .fit for duties which their white sisters regard as beneath them. This idea would certainly not tend to the uplifting of* the Maori, any more than it tends to elevate the pakeha domestic Jn the social scale. The fact is we have hitherto been proceeding upon wrong lines with regard to domestic service, and the difficulty of now obtaining such assistance is really due to the revolt of the women concerned against the system. There should be no reason, except that derived from a bad custom, ■why domestic service should not be as honourable an occupation as any other in which women engage. The same process of uplifting and educating which is now desired for the! Maori girl, is equally necessary for j the Eiiropean. " Grirls in domestic employment require to be properly instructed in their duties, and proper treatment as well as proper pay should be the reward for efficient service. The notion that they are a class apart should be got rid of. They fill a useful and honourable station in life, and should be treated accordingly. There was a time when nurses were of the " Sairey Gamp" species, ignorant, conceited, artd usually thoroughly incompetent. Now nurses are generally educated women possessed of high qualifications, fit to adorn any station. No one would!

now dream of regarding the trained j nurse as a-social'inferior, and the same uplifting process which has so improved the lot of nurses is needed ior 'chose in domestic employment. To be=?in with, the term "servant" should disappear from our vocabulary. Domestic assistant is a preferable term, and it implies a higher social grade. If girls, either pakeha or. Maori, could, be trained in colleges to become efficient domestic assistants, the difficulty we hear so much about would soon disappear. Lady Stout's movement is a commendable one, but there is no reason why it should necessarily bo confined to the girls of one; race. The colleges should be open to both, aiid this would effectually -meet the difficulty : that has already been voiced of an ! apparent inclination to differentiate between the races, and establish a colour line. High-spirited Maoris 'may be depended upon to resent this, and there "is no necessity whatever for ii.- Let us start right. Nurses of both races' are being trained together in the same hospitals, and domestic assistants; white and brown, can also acquire a knowledge, of their duties together. No other method will be satisfactory to the Maori.