WHAT CIVILISATION HAS DONE FOR THE MAORI.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13453, 1 June 1907, Page 1 (Supplement)

WHAT CIVILISATION HAS DONE FOR THE MAORI.

J BY E.JI.D. It may be as well just now, in view of the recent gathering of Maoris at ! Huntly, with the avowed intention of dis- 1 cussing the grievances of their race, to " review the question from a different stand- 1 point, and to consider whether in reality : the Maoris if the present day have any ' grievances to discuss. It may rather be confessed that immense benefits and bless-! 1 ings have been bestowed upon them. In r former times the. Maoris were numerous, j ] and even their constant warfare failed to) prevent their increase. They filled the j 1 land, znd they possessed virtues which ' have • received continued recognition. ] Living under savage conditions and with ' little comfort, they constantly * practised ; ; shifts, barbarisms, and cruelties which ' ; rendered life and property absolutely tin- ' safe,.yet they were not devoid of kindness ' in family life, of love of children, 'and, ' and home, and they were capable of gene- ; rous action. They possessed poetic senti- ' ment, and understood true love and the sacrifices involved, yet their lives were even the more embittered from a compre- ; hension of such virtues. Not for themselves alone were they constantly watchful of danger, but for those they loved more ' than themselves. . The anguish that rent; the souls of Taumaranui and his wife as they conspired to ~trangle their darling daughter in the first bloom of her early womanhood, that she might escape their own more cruel fate, only finds parallel in j the most tragic events of human story ; and such anguish was a- common thing! Although there were brief intervals when a tribe enjoyed a period of peace, when children might freely play around the door, and youth and maiden roam hand in hand- among the boskag: or along the shining shore ; when the crones might sit and gossip in peace, and the whole tribe might go forth joyously to the labour of the day, returning at ev< with lilt and | marching 30Ug, life seldom ran long in such pleasant grooves. Daily there was the fear of surprise and attack ; no crop could be counted certain to reach maturity in safety. It was a common habit to plan an attack upon a neighbouring' tribe just when kumera and taro were.fit for use. Neither life nor property was really safe 'J for a single hour. Hence the inaccessible positions chosen • for settlement. The . nerves of the Maoris were racked by constant terrors, only too well founded in reality. Henco their fears ■ and supersli- ; tions and anxious listenings to the voices of the night, ,so characteristic even of the Maoris of to-day. - It is unnecessary here to dwell upon the horrors of their prac- : tices, or to recall the treatment which they dreaded at the hands of the people of their own race, separated only from them .' by tribal differences. The barbarities which they constantly practised have never . been excelled, and were witnessed by early \ European settlers, so that there is no doubt whatever of the truth of the stories \ told, of tribes annihilated, of woman and \ child ctnd nursing mother remorselessly slaughtered, of days of savage torture before death was permitted to end the ', agonies of the victims, and of revellings in £ bloodshed and horror. There was also the torture of. the process of • tattooing, of hunger and want and cold, as well as of I terror and uncertainty. We have changed all these things, and the Maori of to-day ' goes well fed and comfortably clothed'. / His wants are all supplied, and his ambi- .'; I tiouf., if he. has , any, .have. all. the. ,world J for a stage. . ■■There fis nothing to' withhold j from travel, opportunity, : education. Alembers of his race fill the highest places, ' and may do so, given opportunity, in any . land. He knows no fear of danger from 5 attack of savage foe; his life- and his pro- . perty are alike safe ; he is free to come and ]goas he pleases; to make use.of railways, roads, telephones, • and all the advantages 5 of civilisation. He may trade, if he wishes, I make use of all the usual opportunities for , money-making, farm, keep store, teach, 7 preach; all professions and avocations are j open to him, and he■ has -shown himself f capable of : all these things. He has his I statesmen,- lawyers, doctors, ministers, D teachers, councillors. There is absolutely f no barrier which divides him from any of t these opportunities; all his children are e freely educated at the expense of the State; he has plenty of money derived c from the lease or possibly sale of his t, lands; if he chooses to work, it is not Q only good for him physically and mentally, 6 out his means are increased. J, Such is the present position of the e Maori. He lives in peace; absolutely free e from danger or attack, has good clothes, . tobacco, books, educational facilities, and i religious and economic freedom. Compare ~ his- lot now with that which was his desi tiny before the advent of the white man, e and the benefits he has received arc obvious. Against the improvement in his lot , must he placed the fact of the diminution .' of uis numbers. Civilisation appears to s tend in some mysterious way to his decrease. Like his great prototype, the j, kauri, apparently, ho can only multiply a and increase by 'living in the undisturbed 0 forest shades, by beach and seashore where . ( "never comes the trader, :never floats an ,f European flag." d Yet, if it were a choice— be or not to .. —if it were a preposterous truth that n the keeping up of nis numbers, his tribal n increase, demand barbaric surroundings, e with savagery, the practices of war, blood- :- «hed, cannibalism, terror," and human ,r cruelty, the sufferings of women and -:hilt aren, • a life of discomfort, sorrow, >.«nd i. fear, lightened only by occasional gleams li of wild joys, shall "we "say that it is desir1, able that there should be such an increase? >f Is it not better that, if in civilisation these s must lie few, there should be fewthat c tnese should be free, happy, comfortable, i, and at ease, living in safety and usefulness, e at peace with God and man? Probably it d is not necessary that there should bf few, e and that improved conditions will demoni, strate the reverse. The Maoris should a consider the blessings and benefits which iv they have received, and should endeavour J, to "take better advantage of the facilities u aifforded them. They are an intelligent I- people, and u- should* be their aim, amah t gamated with the British race,' to march d in the ranks of progress ; by thrift and t- work to become wealthy ; to take a leading place in the councils of the nation ; by a sensible home life and the benefits of education to fit their children to take a part '• in the world's progress; and by union with Europeans to" strengthen the ties which already bind the two races. There is nothing to hinder their advancement in useful and productive national life. They ; c are at present contributing to build up a nation wnich is already prominent in the !*' councils of the Empire, in which members '' of their own race may, and do, take a 7 - conspicuous part. They have nothing to gain by isolation, and every advantage by unity with Europeans. In New Zealand y there is no racial prejudice, but a sincere ls affection between brown and white. The numerous half-castes growing and grown y up on our shores constitute in themselves a class of citizens physically fine, and mentally inferior to none.: Ties of blood, i. of kinship, of property, of self-interest, c unite Maori and European so closely that -i it is impossible to draw any dividing line. The children, both boys and girls, attend "■ the same schools from infancy, and enjoy exactly the same opportunities from the " free State school to the day when the door y of the University closes behind them. , While this is the case, there can be no [j division and no class prejudice. Instead of considering that they have • grievances s against the New Zealand Government, and against Europeans, they should rather pass e resolution calculated to v increase the friendship and unity which, should exist, - which does exist, and which must exist e between people whose interests, aims, and . lopporUmities entirely coincide.