MAORI BISHOP

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16628, 23 April 1928, Page 9

MAORI BISHOP

A NATIVE DESIRE APPEAL BY SIR A. T. NGATA An impassioned appeal that the bishop appointed to control the newlycreated x Maori diocese should be a member of the na'tive race was made to the Anglican General Synod in Wellington by Sir Apirana Ngata. Sir Apirana Ngata commenced by tendering the General Synod the thanks of the Maori diocese for giv: ing him an opportunity "of placing their views before synod. The difficulties surrounding the appointment of a Maori bishop had been referred to by the archbishop in his •opening address, he said, 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 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 lie asked if any pakeha could touch . chords which a Maori bishop could touch, because of that magic, force called race. The mysterious influence of race was being used by. God throughout the world today.

THE NEED OF THE CHURCH "If there was a will that a Maori should lead this movement," said the speaker, "all the difficulties could be easily brushed aside by the synod. The need of the Church to-day is for a man who will ,go past the 10 per cent, educated Maoris, and get right under the skins of the 90 per cent, of the race who, despite 100 years of civilisation, arc almost as primitive as they were a hundred years ago. It may be said that we lack the power to organise, but organisation is not the need of the Maoris to-day, but a man who can go round and quicken a cold church."

Proceeding, Sir Apirana Ngata said they tendered their heartfelt thanks to the white men who had done so much for the Maoris in the past, but what thev 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 were no tacit agreement three years ago that the first bishop of the Maori diocese should be a pakeha; he was certain that the synod had an open mind on the subject. "We plead," concluded the speaker, "for a man who will keep bright the torch lighted by Marsden and Selwyn, and we plead that this torch-bearer should be ' one of our own race."

The Primate, Most Rev. Dr. Averill, thanked Sir Apirana Ngata for putting- the Maori views before synod.