BISHOP FOR MAORIS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16627, 21 April 1928, Page 2

BISHOP FOR MAORIS

PAKEHA OR NATIVE ? —. •' *!. - ' > . ■ THE PRIMATE’S OPINION The Primate of New Zealand, Archbishop Averill, explained in his inaugural address at the opening of General Synod in Wellington that conferences with the Maori representatives upon the subject of whether a Maori or a white man should be appointed „|is bishop in the proposed now Maori diocese had resulted in a deadlock. Many of the Maori delegates, however, had changed their minds on the subject, and the majority in favor of a member of the Maori race as bishop was now reduced to one. At that conference the possibility some alternative other than that provided in the canon, was discussed, and two suggestions were put forward by the Maoris, viz.: (1) The appointment of a pakeha bishop with a Maori as-sistant-bishop; and (2) the appointment. of the archbishop as head ot the Maori Mission in the province, Avitji a' Maori assistant-bishop. If It may be that the bishops will have met.’ tl\e Maori representatives again before the opening, of this synod and settled the question,” pro- 1 needed I,lis Grace, “but whether that lie so or not, it seems to me that there arc grave difficulties connected with the alternative schemes. With regard to (l)', it would hardly seem reasonable to appoint two bishops to superintend such a comparatively small section of the Church, unless the assistant had the right of succession, and tho Church of this province is hardly likely to concede to the Maori portion of the Church what it did not concede in the case of Melanesia. , ' “I should regard (2) as unconstitutional aud very unijle sir able,’. ’ continued Archbishop Averill, “nor. can I think that even under clause 3 of the constitution, which, is practically inoperative, would it be possible to make the archbishop the bishop of a second diocese. The idea of a Maori diocese with representation in General. •Synod would have to be abandoned, and it could only mean the unification of the existing work among the Maoris under tho nominal superintendence of the: archbishop—but what would happen when the archbishop resided in /the South Island? MAORI MISSION

“The unification of tho Maori Mission in the province ~is of greater moment than even the appointment of a bishop for tho Maoris, aud should the scheme as set, forth in the canon of December 1925, prove to be premature, it might still be possible -to make a great advance in the organisation of the Maori work dn the province, and place it on a provincial basis. In that case it would be much simpler for the Maori Mission to take its proper place as one of the associated missions supported by the Provincial Board ofi Missions. • “Unless the canon passed in 1925 has become operative, or is in process of becoming operative, I sliould advise the synod to cancel it ans ap-; - point another commission tp consider other way? by. which the Kingdom' of God may' be advanced am ,ngst the Maori people—taking into account the desire of tjie Maori people for a, greater degree of self-expression, both in the services of the Church and in the control and government of the

work of the Church amongst * them. , Having gone so .far, it would be dis- . astrons to return to the status quo. We have already shown our .sympathetic interest in the’ aspirations of the Maoris, but we may have failed in our proposed modus operand!” Sir Apirana Ngata was to appear before the synod yesterday afternoon to explain the Maori viewpoint. .