A MAORI BISHOP.

Otago Witness, Issue 3867, 24 April 1928, Page 31

A MAORI BISHOP.

: QUESTION OF APPOINTMENT. SIR APIRANA NGATA’S PLEA. . WELLINGTON, April 20. Sip Apirana Ngata spoke to-day at the general synod on the question. of the appointment of a Maori. bishop.. The difficulties surrouunding the appointment of a Maori bishop, he said, had been referred to by the archbishop in his opening address,. but much could be said on the Maori side. When it was proposed that there should be a Maori diocese with a Maori bishop at the head of that .diocese the. names of many men who had spent their lives in the service of the Maori .people flew to their lips, but they, (the Maoris) put these aside and stood firm.: for the appointment of a Maori. as the head of the organisation. They admitted the doubt in the mind of the pakeha as to whether they were equal to the occasion, but he asked if any pakeha could touch chords which a Ma- ri bishop would touch because of that magic force called, race. .The mysterious influence of race was being used by God jthroughout .the world to-day. If there was a will that a Maori should head this movement, said the speakei, all. the difficulties could be easily brushed aside by the synod. The need of the church to-day was for a man who would go past the 10 per cent, of educated Maoris and get right under the skins of the 90 per cent, of the race who, despite 100 years of civilisation, were almost as primitive as they were 100 years ago. “It may be said,” said Sir Apirana, “ that we lack the power to organise, but organisation was not the need of the Maoris to-day, but' a man 'who could go round and quicken a cold church.” - f Proceeding, Sir Apirana Ngata said they tendered their heartiest thanks to the white, man . who had done so much for the Maoris in the past, but what they wanted was a man round whose banner they could rally. They could not go back to their people empty-handed. There were already people who had prophesied that the Maoris would never get a bishop of their own race. There was no tacit agreement three years ago that the first bishop of the Maori should be a pakeha. He was certain that the synod had an open mind on the subject. < “ w e plead,” concluded the speaker, V l3 ” "ho will keep bright the torch" lighted by Marsden and Selwyn, and we plead that this torchbearer shall be one of our own race.” The Primate of New Zealand (Dr Averill) thanked Sir Apirana Ngata for putting the Maori views before the synod.\