TARAWERA SUFFERERS AND “CITIZEN.”

New Zealand Mail, Issue 752, 30 July 1886, Page 1 (Supplement)

TARAWERA SUFFERERS AND “CITIZEN.”

TO THE EDITOR OP THE NEW ZEALAND TIHES Sir, —I cannot allow a letter which appeared in your issue of to-day, signed “ Citizen,” to pass unchallenged. If the writer does not feel justified in subscribing himself, why should he throw cold water on the efforts of others more charitably disposed? He suggests that assistance should only be given by way of loan. Now, when people are actually in want of food, I say it would be unmanly and cowardly to take advantage of their necessities and drive a bargain; ■ He says, moreover, that the “ survivors of those who perished at Tarawera ought not to receive charitable aid,” and he gives as a reason, the fact: That the year before last the Wairoa Natives received LG,580 from tourists, which was divided amongst sixty or seventy owners of the Rotomahana block. Sir, I never heard of anything so monstrous. These unfortunate people to the number of several hundred lost everything, even to their clothes, and are now living at the expense of the Rotorua Maoris, who can ill afford it owing to the frequent Land Courts held in the district, and the failure of the crops this year. Besides it is absolutely untrue that the Wairoa Natives ever received anything like the sum et Citizen ” mentions. The most they ever obtained in one year was L 2,800 (two thousand, eight hundred), and as there are over 800 owners of the block, according to the Native Land Court, it goes without saying that this money was pretty well distributed. Sir, it is an absolute fact that the whole of the arable land owned by these people has been rendered useless for the present by the heavy deposit of mud and ashes, with the exception of a small bush at Parekarangi, whither many of them propose moving. It is quite true that they have been invited to go elsewhere. Tawhiao, the Maori King, has asked them to cast in their lot with his people; but these Natives are proud and sensitive, and hardly likely to accept a subordinate position under other tribes. Besides, they are deeply attached to their birthplace, and they say, “ Let us live and die on the land of our forefathers.” It was very generous of Tawhiao to offer succor to the Arawa Natives, seeing that they fought bravely on the Government side against him, and inflicted many severe defeats. I am sure, however, that Government would not wish these people to leave the district and become landless wanderers over the country. “ Citizen ” says the men are generally drunkards, and the women are commonly drunkards and unchaste. This is a gross libel on a noble interesting race, and I emphatically deny such to be the case. Even at Wairoa, where the Maoris are exposed to exceptional temptations, great numbers of them were Good Templars, notwithstanding the effort of tourists to make them otherwise. I have seen, with feelings of shame, a party of English travellers encouraging the Natives to perform indecent dances, serving out a mixture of half a dozen kinds of drink by the bucketful, in order to make the women forgetful of their sense of propriety. It is quite true that tolls and vexatious charges were exacted from visitors, but this was generally caused by the conflicting claims of many hundred Natives to a block of land daily becoming more valuable. The same thing would have occurred in any European community where individual rights had been defined. “ Citizen ” is altogether incorrect when lie states that tolls are exacted for crossing roads and bridges made by the Colony. There is no truth in this statement. In conclusion, I would like to point out that the facts are simply as follows A serious volcanic eruption has occurred, whereby the cultivatable lands of some 2000 Natives are more or less destroyed, and their food, clothing, and live stock lost. These people will require to be fed

and clothed and supplied with seed potatoes for some months to come. Owing to the Thermal Springs Act and other restrictive legislation, they cannot make the least use of any surplus lands they may possess. There are several European families also houseless and destitute, to whom a little assistance would be most acceptable. The Government have repeatedly stated that they will only place a small sum on the Supplementary Estimates ; that, general re- , lief must be left to private benevolence. Many of the Native chiefs in more favored districts are doing all they can to ~ raise food for their distressed brethren. The Auckland citizens have generously provided for the immedate wants of the Tuhourangi survivors, and it is with the object of affording further partial relief to a large number of necessitous cases that his Excellency the Governor now invites the hearty co-operation of the Wellingtonians. lam sure this appeal will meet with a ready response. —I am, &c., Humanity. Wellington, July 23.