TUESDAY,MARCH 13, 1906. THE FUTURE OF THE MAORI.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13112, 13 March 1906, Page 4

TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 1906. THE FUTURE OF THE MAORI.

On the occasion of the unveiling .of monuments- to departed > Maori sohiefs at Whakarewarewa ' . oti Saturday last the Native offered some excellent advice tb'thet Maoris gathered around him. He urged them to i devote; tlieirrener T gies to tilling 1 the soil, for fey their industry in agriculture aii&^itidred occupations alone'coiildj "they 1 ,'ex-, pect to live as , a race. Should there be any surplus ' land they would learn 1 to "place if, in" the, hands of the good, strong ,'teach-, \ ers to deal , with, for the benefit of J

both races. 'Another 'duty, he said, that devolved upon theni was to take special care of. their; little children, and, teach them'the ; j useful arts, (so that they : might lead good lives, and . obtain pros r < perity, and health.. He^urgcid.' upon; them to observe the laws of sani-, tation, and to . foe strenuous in urging upon the Government and! .their European brethren to assist the Maoris, by educating the.', child-; ren, and giving them ;teohnical[ education. Their "hands 'must be : taught to work as well was' their ji lips' to speak the English language./; Three other things they must. guard,! against (we quote the New Zea-> land Herald's report 61' the Mini-^ ster's remarks) were' la!ziness ; need-; less waste of ,theif goods,'' and intemperance. If they bore 'this in* mind, and fought .strenuouslyagainst the evils tKat afflicted the, race, there was no reason 'Jo pre-j vent them reaching the , highest \ position in the.iife of the ,country.. 1\ is the a fashion .. ainpng.^sott?e, people, ! who talk- .glibly^ ' abo|ut ,she ( white .man's duty ,^to his /btqwn s brother to charge., the former with the responsibility ,for the < -gradual dyjng out of the;. Maori £ace, byjn-t troducing European, -vices, .ami fail-.. i**g to protect the M-aorifrom. .them,. No doubt -< there is; a, certain); amount of truth in , this s ;but it: must not be forgotten thiat the: Maoris were rapidly -killing 1 them-< selves in intertribal warfare long: before the white man came, to New. Zealand. The introduction, of rifles,' it is true, accelerated the -destruc-, tion, and that was i due to the, ;

white man, blit the 'race \vas> rapidly dimihishilig; even/before then. White settlement ptit r ( an end to cannibalism and intertribal wars and practically saved: 1 the native race from self-destruction. At the same, time there is no doubt that 1 we owe' a ■ duty to. the Maoris 1 . We found them with an aim in life, , the Tailing 1 of their neighbours I—an1 — an evil aim, it is true, but still it was what they lived and worked fof-i-and we have riot yet succeeded in teaching them a higher aim. Kfforts have beei^ made, but mostly ill-directed, from want of knowledge,/ and it seems that even to-day we have not learned to understand the Maori nature. That .the Maoris are able of much tfctte'r .things- is, proved 'by the fact* 'that some' of them have achieved very high- positions in the ' colony, successfully! competing with ..their, white brethren in many. Walks of life. : Maori clergymen, Maori doctors, 1 Maori lawyers are there, who in' culture and learning can hold their own wherever they go.. Much less rarely do we find a Maori .woman standing out above her /fellows y and the reason is not far t6 seek. The young Maori man J has a better opportunity of . striking out for himself than his sisterj who,- even if she, in her youth, is -given the advantage of good Bur opean training, in nearly ail cases gravitates back to the rpah. . and „.co.ttmrumal life. This ought to -give us a key to the solution .-.of the, problem. .Encourage indiVidualisui; among the Maoris. Gradually; f/break, jqs : the communal - "settlements .by . , giving each native hag,-. own *. lan«U ..Help him 1 ; as the State- helps v white settlers, to improve it. and' stock it. Bring him under the same laws in evfery/ i respect; r -as the • white settlers, afrd fotf' will- gradually become'as "one of themi instead of being "a face <( W.8.-; M of Te 'Kiiiti,' on¥ of *thY Ablest writers in tfew' Zealand* d&ites subject,' declares tKat the' "Maori •is a ''natural 'artisan and artificer.' G^ncburage this side of His nature by giving j.the lads .technical x training. Make them carpenters, builders, , .wheelwright?.; f all, „ « them some otiject in life'beyoM'd the mere satisfying of their hunger.

The Gqvermjieiit -Vhas Jgreat opportunity of doing something in the direction indicated by first in- 1 diviclualisihg Maori lairds, 'seeing that each one has aahple for his needs, and making use of' wli.at ' is not so, recjuired for ordinary settle-, tnent. That will go a long way" towards breaking up the communal system of life which has' sapped the energies o£ the race.