EDUCATION OF THE MAORIS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3247, 3 July 1872, Page 5

EDUCATION OF THE MAORIS.

( Taranakl New*.)

"That the soul bo without knowledge is not good," is an axiom equally applicable j to Maori and Pake-hit; But while our own, race in this Province is aot overburdened j with moral or mental cultivation, tho state of the Maori in this particular is deplorable. So far as our observation goes, bo is grossly ignorant, idle, and oenauaL Destitute of religion, with no potter of appreciating] nature, without hope, aim. or aspiration, ' Ins only deairo in to gratify his lower I passions, and wallow in sensuality. Yet his case was not always thua. dnce hia very existence demanded an education. It was,, neudfol that he should study tho phases of nature, to know when the cuckoo came and departed, when the clematis blossomed, when certain stars appeared ; for these conI stiUited his calendar, and by their tokens he learned when to plant and when to reap. It was requisite that he thonld learn to fish, to spear birds, and entrap rats. The mysteries of the intricate forest paths he had to investigate, and he liad to learn the names and virtues of trees' and plants. The art of war, the construction of warlike implements and canoes, the making of mats, and tho traditions of his race, formed no email part of his education. By contact witli our civilisation this education has become obsolete. The olti flax mat will not clothe him—for European garments have become to him a necessity. N« r will the simple kumera or taro now suffice him for foot!, for he has learned to eat wheaten bread and beef. Tn fact; the old conditions of bis existence have passed away, and new

ones have taken their place, and with them have come the need of a now education. We have made him a man of business, and the three It's are daily becoming of more importance to him than the learning how to spear torn or plant kuineras. Hint while we have thus necessitated a new education, wo liave not given it. We have invested him with improved circumstances and new temptations, and we have not trained him either to appreciate the on«, or to rice superior to the other. Wo have acted liko a nobleman who takes a maiden from the scullery to bo his bride without first sending her to school.

But baa nothing been done towards his education! Yen, truly much. Priest, prelate, peer, and philanthropist hav«s, for the last sixty years, been engaged in the task. Men have devoted. the?r whole lives to it. Thousands of pounds have been spent upon it, and yet all hare failed—yes, miserably and deplorably faiJad. The rock ai>on which all these laudable intentions have been riven appears to us to bo the endeavour to educate the Maori through the medium of his own tongue. We verily believe that this is an important reason why he has never l>een able to grasp that Gospel 'which haa been so assiduously preached to him. Everything grand or noblo that is presented to him through the medium of his own meagre and barbarous language must necessarily be shaved down, attenuated or diluted, to the measure of its capacity. Hence Paul at Athens is made to walk about and discourse in a pah, and the City of the Blessed becomes a tapued pah whoso avenues are jiaved with gold. How is it, we would ask, that the mental condition of the Negro in the West Indies is so different? Who so enthusiastically religious as he '! or who has striven more to embrace the benefits of our civilisation ? The answer is very plain—he has been taught to read and think in English. Since penning the above, we have learned through the Southern Cross that a school for teaching young Maoris the English language has been established at Maketu ; and that the results so far are promising beyond all expectations. Our ardent desire is to sco similar schools immediately established in this Provincn, so that our Maori youth, instead of lapsing into the miserable condition of their parents, may bo trained to appreciate our customs, respect our laws, to participate freely with us in the rich stores of our literature, and to be co-workers with us in the evolutions of civilisation.