GOVERNOR-GENERAL'S SPEECH

Northern Advocate, 5 February 1934, Page 8

GOVERNOR-GENERAL'S SPEECH

His Excellency extended a welcome j to the Governor of Fiji, who had come j to represent the people of his colony; { representatives of the Federal Govern- j mcnt of Australia and also or the Gov- | eminent of New 'South Wales, of j which for a. short time this country j was a dependency; and very specially , the band of visitors from the delec- j table island of Barotonga, children of | the same traditional ancestors as the ! Maoris, Enngi and Paua. 1 Thanks to God. j ! To the beneficent teaching of the j •Christian missionaries they largely | owed the softening of ancient animosi- | ties, the radiation of trustful friendship, the reign of peace, which were the outcome of the Treaty of Waitangi. “We should offer up our I .grateful thanks to Almighty God in j that He has afforded the British na--1 Cum the privilege of being the humble ! instrument in His hands of bringing j about so marvellous a change in the [lives of His Maori people.” j Advice to Pakehas, i Speaking to the Pakeha, population j of the Dominion, His Excellency said | that if there was one conclusion more ! than another that he drew from the I gathering today, it was that nothing | had occurred in the years which had ! intervened since 1840 to relieve them of the responsibilities then solemnly undertaken. On the contrary, those responsibilities had increased rather than diminished. As the senior partner in the compact entered into 04 years ago upon them devolved, in a larger sense, the obligation of seeing that they observed the terms of a ' Treaty which not only placed the Maori on a footing of political equality with the Pakeha, but enabled him to march forward side by side with them in social life, in education, in industry and in sport. Whatever capacity the Maoris had for assimilating the benefits of Western civilisation should not be starved, but warmly encouraged. The surest way to make the Maori a good citizen and a real asset to this Heaven blessed country was to train him how to use his land to the best economic advantage within the limits imposed by his numbers and capacity. The Native Minister had inaugurated developments of incalculable benefit to his race which would earn him the gratitude of posterity, They should encourage the Maori to cultivate his own land to grow his own food, to preserve the purity of his language, the poetry of his race, the romantic beauty of his folk-lore—to cultivate, in fact, not only the soil but also a love for the Polynesian arts of his ancestors. It would surely lie a dull day for New Zealand if the charm of Maori music, handicraft and dancing were to vanish into the limbo of things forgotten or become merely the hobby of antiquarian and ethnologist. Let them also encourage their Maori compatriots, in consonance with the advice of their late eminent Pangatira, Sir Maui Pomave, to develop in their settlements all those wholesome conditions which contributed to good health and long life. As his distinguished predecessor, Sir George Grey, insistently emphasised, the most certain way to ensure full justice, to the Maori people and thoir heart-whole co-operation in the forward progress of this county was to develop a wider knowledge among their European fellow countrymen of their language, their traditions and their outlook upon life and its problems. A Nationalised Waitangi, His Excellency expressed the fervent hope that a nationalised Waitangi' might be instrumental in developing throughout the whole community a greater sense of solidarity, a deeper spirit of nationhood based upon pride in its not unworthy beginnings, and of a past history of which it had no reason to be ashamed. On a spot clearly visible from the Waitangi Estate, Samuel Marsden, the pioneer of Christianity, preached his famous Christmas sermon 119 years ago to a fascinated Native audience, bringing the cheerful message of 'peace and goodwill to a people sunk in heathen darkness. It was the earnest hope of 1 Her Excellency and himself that peace [ and goodwill between both races and I all classes, based upon national unity | and steadfast faith in God, might ever i flourish and abound in this Dominion, | and that Waitangi might not be withi out its influence inpromoting them in | days to come. “Ka Nui Taku Aroha Kia Kota, ” I “Maori people, you have our afI fcctlonate regards. Kia ora. Kia ora.’