A MOVING APPEAL.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20503, 3 January 1935, Page 7

A MOVING APPEAL.

Present Day Problems of the Maoris. HASTINGS, January 2. A moving plea for sympathy and heip i°L th f - Maori race in Present day ciimculties and for patience in awa-'t-mg the rebuilding of the Maori code ot ethics according to the principles of Christianity was made this evening Hemi Nikora, a Maori missioner, at a gathering of the Dominion Conference of the Presbyterian Bible Class Movement Mr Nikora’s address was perhaps the emotional climax of the week’s meetings, and deeply stirred the audience of over seven nundred people Some of the cults that had sprung up, misguided as they had been, were nevertheless an expression of the Maoris’ desire to seek some revelation of Christ, said Mr Nikora. It was not long since Maori life had been hedged about with superstition on every side, even in the most common things of life. To-day, however, superstition was completely a spent force among the Maori race, and Christianity was gaining ground through the work of the missions. Those who. have been sent out to work as missionaries among us have been fathers and mothers in God to us. said Mr N'ikora, "and those of us -Maoris who are here to-night are but a few of the fruits of their labours, .xradually but surely Christianity is coming into Maori life through the influence of the people whom you have been supporting. Pakeha Life and Maori Life. ,"f° r us Maoris to rise in the scale of life we must always look to you. . e must always seek from you your interest and your help. The pakeha me and the Maori life are two totally different things. Before you came we lived our own life. When you came you showed us that yours rvas a better liie, ana it overwhelmed ours. We accepted it. We want to rise. We cannot carry on any longer according to our Maori standards. You must help us. \ou cannot rebuild our race in one day. The Maori people are erving out to you from the depths of ignorance and darkness. What is your answer?” Speaking of the Maori’s desire for fellowship with his pakeha brother Mr said, ‘‘When you meet a Maori give him a Christian nod of recognition—of brotherly recognition—it will go a long way. Just one nod. I pray that you will never lose the sense of your. responsibility of supporting Maori missions, and that you will support them, not because it is a responsibility but because you love Christ and love those whom Christ loves.”