LATE ELSDON BEST.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20977, 14 September 1931, Page 10

LATE ELSDON BEST.

ELOQUENT MAORI TRIBUTE.

BISHOP BENNETT'S PANEGYRIC.

An eloquent tribute to the late Mr. Elsdon Best was paid by Bishop Bennett in his address on the occasion Gf the funeral service in St. Paul's pro-cathedral Wellington. " We are inet together to bid a last, ' long farewell to the mortal remains of oar brother," said the bishop. " This is not a time for many words. One would prefer to sit in silence and contemplate —contemplate the virtues and gifts of intellect of our brother here departed; but I feel that it is necessarv that at least one side of his work should be emphasised. You have already read in the newspapers very full descriptions of the wonderful work he has done. I feel, however, that it is due to him that I, as one of the children of the Maori race, should take this opportunity of expressing our regard, our admiration and our gratitude for the great work he has done in bringing before the world, the spiritual conceptions, the mythology and legends of the Maori people. " In the symbolism Mr. Best was so fond of, I come as a. child of the Maori race to place upon his mortal remains the pare-kawakawa. It was the custom of our Maori people when lamenting the loss of a great one to wear a pare-kawa-kawa as an emblem of grief. That emblem has three main lessons. First of ill, there was the plant itself. The leave! of the kawakawa. when bruised, have t bitter, painful, and pungent taste. "On an occasion of this sort, when we are lamenting the death of one who occupied such a high position in the regard o£ both races, there is the pain which comes from a sense of loss of the mortal side of our brother. On the other hand, let us not doubt that the great soul of our brother has not come to an er.d. Although he has been taken from our midst, his soul and influence still live on. In the symbolism of the Maori people he loved so much as a student, I, as a representative of the Maori race, place figuratively upon his mortal remains this wreath. He has been called to a higher existence." The bishop concluded:—"Farewell, Elsdon Best, chief and father of the Maori race! Farewell!- Haere ra! Haere ra! E koro. Haere kite iwi! Haere kite kainga ! Haere kite Ariki! Depart! Depart! O father! Depart to the people! Depart to the homej Depart to God !"