Waimate North.

Northland Age, Volume 3, Issue 4, 28 August 1906, Page 5

Waimate North.

(From our own Con'espondent.) Several of the settlers of Pakaraka, who have been supplying milk to the Oliaeawai factory during the past season, are now selling their cows, which looks as though cow-spanking is not too good a paying game—or is the fault in some other qnarter ?

The proprietors of the, s.s. Blanche hove now bought the oil launch Fire Fly from Mr. Black. The latter boat is now running to Waitangi Falls, whilst the Blanche now has the Kcri Keri trip. She being the larger boat of the two is better suited for the run, seing the Keri Keri trade now includes Okaihau and Waimate freights. I learn that teachers have been appointed to take charge of the Native schools at Oromahoe and Te Ahu Ahu, the former teachers having left some time since, and undoubtedly the gentlemen of the cane-rising profession will probably find that the scholars will take a little extra rubbing up when the next teacher arrives. We have often been told that a nation’s greatness depends upon the education of its people, but there are many ways of being great—l beg permission to stray from the point, seeing that education has many branches —most of which can only be learned at the schools of experience and practice. Some people’s greatness is marked by feats and skill in sports of various kinds, while the man who is well versed in the line of allowing his little finger to continually rise higher than his nose has his greatness well in front; which reminds me of a remark I heard the other day about a similar person, the remark being that at one time the person referred to had a splendid chest, but unfortunately it dropped and only his belt saved him from losing it altogether. Well, to get back to the school, or lather the scholars:

The educated Maori of to-day reminds me of a paragraph in a very, interestiffg story which I read some years ago entitled “ Lights and Shadows of the Good Old Times,” where the writer (a Mangapai settler), after speaking well of the old-time native, describes the natives of his time as degenerated homai te utu descendants, and I feel convinced that if we ask the man behind the counter, the fanner, the bushman, or the contractor for his opinion of the average young native of to-day (educated included) his answer will be given in far stronger terms than those refSned to above.

I do not wish to be too heavy on the young native with education sufficient to make himself understood, but it is a distressing fact that the native youth would far sooner be on the football field or in the billiard saloon than trying to earn a steady respectable living by manual labour (however light), and most assuredly unless there is a pull up and coine on another tack there will be very hard times for some of them. Ido not wish my readers to imagine that they are afraid of work, for many of them have been known to lie down and actually go to sleep right alongside of their work, which proves that if they have a dislike to do work they certainly do not dislike its company. I hope, Mr. Editor, that I have not exceeded a correspondent’s privilege in the foregoing remarks, for I am sure I have not gone beyond the truth, and I would like to see a move that would make the native a better and more industrious settler than he is to-day. Something more than the result of the present mode of native education is required to bring about the change wanted. During the past three weeks we have had rain enough to cause several floods, one of which put about 200 logs down to the booms, while the flood of last. Sunday, which was higher than any of the former, should certainly have made almost a clean sweep, seing the water was over half flood for fully a day and a half. [Since writing above I learn that there are over 600 logs in the booms at Waitangi.] August 14, 1906.