‘WOULD BE A REVOLUTION’

Taranaki Daily News, 20 July 1929, Page 15

‘WOULD BE A REVOLUTION’

GIRLS LIVING WITH CHINESE POSITION “HIGHLY UNDESIRABLE.” MAORIS MAKE STRONG PROTEST. (By Wire —Special to News.) Auckland, Last Night. “If the same number of white girls had been living with Chinese there would be a revolution,” said one of the officers of the Akarana Maori Association this morning when discussing the serious position which lias arisen through large numbers of Maori girls working and living on Chinese market gardens. “At the present time there are known to be 54 Maori girls employed by Chinese, and during the past two years probably 100 have been so employed. “We have proof that a recruiting campaign has been going on to bring girls in from the country. Unfortunately the go-betweens have been two unscrupulous Maori women who have been going into the settlements and inducing girls to come into town.

“When ihe practice first started the ostensible call was for labour, but when young Maori men offered for the positions they were told that mon were not wanted; it was girls. “The association has definite proof of the unfortunate effects of this undesirable co-habitation of the girls and the Chinese, and if it assumes larger proportions I do not know what is going to happen. “You can imagine what sort of stock it would mean —Asiatic and Maori. It is no good for the Maori and it is also no good for the European. An Asiatic admixture ig highly undesirable; it will be a potent one, and perhaps when it is too late the European population of Auckland and the vicinity will realise what a fatal mistake it was not to prevent the Maori girls being degraded.” "When members of the association were spoken to concerning the present undesirable state of affairs they agreed it was most deplorable, but frankly admitted that a solution was rather difficult to find. The trouble wag that Maori girls from out-districts, once they had come to town and tasted the pleasures and excitement of town amusements, were loath to go back to the kainga. They learned they could get “employment” on the Chinese gardens, and they drifted into that kind of life.

One member suggested the solution was that Parliament should legislate in the direction of requiring separate accommodation foi; female labour employed on Chinese gardens, stated hours, and other restrictions which would make it unprofitable for Chinese to engage women.

Another suggestion was that female labour on Chinese gardens should be absolutely prohibited. It was all bunkum to say that Maori girls were employed because there was a shortage of male labour. Anyone could see that was not the reason.