Te Waka Maori. GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1878.

Waka Maori, Volume I, Issue 2, 4 September 1878, Page 18

Te Waka Maori. GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1878.

The excellent flour mill which, has lately been erected in Gisborne by the enterprising firm of Messrs King & Co, and which is now in full work, will, we doubt not, prove a great blessing to the district of Turanga generally by inciting both Maories and Pakehas to greater diligence and zeal in agricultural pursuits—that is to say, in the production of cereals especially. Turanga has well been called "The Garden of New Zealand;" the richness of its soil and the luxuriance of its crops are proverbial, and, as a result of the energetic action which the firm of King & Co. are taking, we trust to see, ere long, large exports of flour from the port of Gisborne. Many hundreds of bushels of seed grain have already been supplied to the Natives by the firm above alluded to, and we are glad to notice that the Natives themselves appear to be taking an increased interest in this branch of industry. It is a question which materially affects our Maori neighbors. By cultivating largely they will not only be benefiting themselves in a pecuniary point of view, but they will, in fact, be labouring side by side with their Pakeha brethren in their endeavours to raise this beautiful district to a position of affluence and prosperity ; and they will find that by fixing their minds on industrial pursuits they will cease to brood over imaginary grievances and difficulties, which they are now so prone to do. "We have heard Natives say that the earth yielded her fruits more abundantly in days of yore than now, and that men then obtained a larger return for their labor than they do now; but we say they were more prosperous in those days because they were more industrious. They had not then the advantage of the use of all the farming implements and machinery which the Pakehas have introduced, yet they were able, by the labor of their hands only, to purchase ships, horses, cattle, ploughs, and a variety of other things, and to erect flour mills and churches in. almost every village. There was less sickness among them than there is now, because labor is conducive to health, and because they had not then learned to> pour liquid fire down their throats, in the shape of rum, as they do now— a practice which, combined with indolence, is one of the chief causes of the decadence of their race. If they would apply themselves to the tillage of the soil, and to other industrial pursuits, they would soon find themselves a healthier, a richer, and a more contented people. But what is the fact ? As we have said in

days gone by, instead of applying themselves to labor* whereby they might enrich themselves and benefit the community, many of them spend their days in idle pursuits and in murmuring and complaining about imaginary grievances. Eor the sake of acquiring popularity, factious orators, feasting at the expense of more industrious men, travel with their adherents about the country delivering political lectures, denouncing the laws as oppressive to the Maori people, andexciting discontent and disaffection among such of the tribes as are inclined to listen to them—and in this course they have, unfortunately, too often been encouraged by intriguing adventurers among the Pakehas. But to return to our subject. "We have here a fertile country, with a suitable climate for the cultivation of grain, and it is a wise economy to import nothing which we ourselves can produce; in other words, to keep our money as much as possible in circulation among ourselves. Every article which we import takes money out of the district, and every article which we export brings money into it by which every one is more or less benefited. If we have to import flour for our own consumption, we shall be sending large sums of money out of the district every year; but there is no reason whatever why the people of Turanga, Pakehas and Maories together, should not produce large quantities for exportation exclusive of what is required for our own use. You all know the old and familiar proverb of your ancestors, viz.:—"The power of war is a failing power, but the power of industry is unfailing." So also among most of the ancient inhabitants of the world the art of agriculture was held in high estimation. Even kings and leaders of armies have not . considered it below their dignity to devote attention to agriculture. In illustration of this we shall notice, very briefly, a few historical facts, which will be interesting to our Native readers. The ancient Romans esteemed agriculture so honorable an employment that the most illustrious senators of the empire, in the intervals of public concerns, applied themselves to this profession. On their return from the toils of war, the taking of cities, and the subduing of hostile nations, their greatest generals were impatient till they were again employed in the arta of agriculture. Eegulus, a celebrated Soman Consul, when at the head of the Roman forces in Africa (about two hundred and fifty years before Christ), in a short time made himself master of about 200

important places on the coast; yet, in the midst of victory and martial renown, he requested the Senate to recall him lest his farm might suffer for want of proper cultivation in his absence, and the Senate wrote him in answer that it should be taken care of at the public expense while he continued to lead their armies. The Emperor of China annually, at the beginning of spring, goes to plough in person, attended by all the princes and grandees of the empire. The Egyptians, who, from the natural fertility of their country by the overflowing of the Nile, raised annually vast quantities of corn, were so sensible of the blessings resulting from agriculture, that they ascribed the invention of that art to Osiris —a fabled god of ancient Egypt, representing the sun. They also regarded Isis, their second deity, as the discoverer of the use of wheat and barley, which before grew wild- in the fields, and were not applied by that people to the purposes of food. Their superstitious gratitude was carried so far as to worship those animals which were employed in tillage. It is also related of the Persians that their kings used to lay aside their grandeur once every month to eat with husbandmen. The Phenicians, so well known in Scripture by the name of Philistines, were also remarkable for their attention to and skill in agriculture. But finding themselves so much disturbed .by the incursions and conquests of the Israelites, they spread themselves throughout the Mediterranean islands, and carried with them their knowledge in the arts of cultivation. The Athenians, mentioned in Scripture, taught the use of corn to the rest of the Greeks, and instructed them how to cultivate the ground. The antiquity of agriculture is undoubtedly beyond that of all other arts, for Ave are informed by Scripture that Adam was sent from the garden of Eden to till the ground. From the earliest accounts of Eastern nations it appears that agriculture has at all times been understood by them in considerable perfection, as they were always supplied not only with necessaries but the greatest luxuries of life. As soon 'as the descendants of Abraham were settled in Palestine they generally became husbandmen, from the chiefs of the tribe of Judah. to the lowest branch of the family of Benjamin. High birth or rank did not then make any distinction, for agriculture was considered as the most honorable of all employments ; witness the illustrious examples of Gideon, Saul, and David. There are other branches of agriculture which our Maori friends might pursue with profit to themselves, such as the cultivation of tobacco and hops ; and we shall at any time be glad to give them all the information in our power on these subjects. In the meantime they will do well to apply themselves energetically to the raising of as much wheat as. possible.

We see by_ a telegram from Wellington that the Native Minister has thought proper, for reasons best known to himself, to suspend indefinitely Mr. Grindell as a Native interpreter under the Native Land Act. Mr. Grindell, however, if it so please him, can find means to act as an interpreter and negotiator in Native matters quite as efficiently without the appointment as with it. This arbitrary act of the Native Minister can only be regarded as an attempt at intimidation, with a view of suppressing free ventilation of opinion in the j columns of the Waha Maori on his administration of Native affairs. The attempt will fail in its object. [Since the above was written Mr. G-rindell has received a letter from Mr. Under-Secretary Clarke, by direction of the Native Minister, informing him that his appointment as interpreter under the Native Land Act of 1573 is suspended ; but no explanation, whatever is given of the reason for such suspension. The letter in question is dated August 21st, and in it Mr. Grindell is informed that the suspension of his office will date from the 13th of August, and that a notification to that effect would be published in the JVeio Zealand Gazette —the intention, apparently, being to lead to the inference that the suspension was in consequence of some act committed by Mr. Grindell prior to the publication of the Waha Maori, the first number of which the Native Minister received on the day before Mr. Clarke's letter (notifying the suspension) was written to Mr. Grindell, whereas the real cause can only be found in the fact that Mr. Grindell is the editor of the Waha Maori.]