THE YOUNGER SET

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 71, Issue 222, 19 September 1928, Page 8

THE YOUNGER SET

INFLUENCE ON MAORI LIFE IMPROVED HEALTH CONDITIONS As a result of the younger and more enlightened Maoris taking over the control of the villages and casting aside the ideas of their elders, encouraging improvement is to be noticed in the hygienic conditions of the native people throughout the Dominion. Continual supervision by the district nurses and the Maori Council organisations and personal visits by the director of the Division of Maori Hygiene and other officers of the Department have also had a beneficial effect upon the general health of the race which is reported as being, on the whole, evien better during the year ended March 31 last than the previous year.

The improvements in the sanitary conditions of the villages continues to progress in a very satisfactory manner, states the annua’ >rt of the Director. The erection of I .m> accommodation is now recognised by the natives to be essential in the interests of health, and in very rare instances is this not to be found. Not. only arc the communal meeting-houses provided with the neces sary conveniences for both sexes, but. many private homes also have .their privy accommodation established. The village committees operating under the Maori Councils are largely responsible for this work, and they also insist upon lhe proper supervision and cleansing of these buildings. When huis or gatherings are in progress squads of men arc detailed off to attend to all matters incidental thereto, and everything is attended to in a systematic manner. The refuse of gatherings is dealt with by burning or burial, and the sanitation of the villages becomes a routine matter. The improvements effected in this direction, to what it was a few years ago, arc most marked, and reflect the greatest credit not only upon the natives themselves, but the Department upon whose shoulders rests the responsibility and earn of health matters of the native race. Gatherings and huis a few years ago were looked upon with fear as a menace to the health of the populace generally: not so to-day. The advice of the Department is sought and carried into effect, and the improved conditions of the villages are. portrayed in the lessened incidence of sickness and disease caused by the evil sanitary conditions of the past. Influences of Ratana Movement Inoculations, like improved sanitary, are proceeding as a routine matter. “We still meet with some opposition to inoculation, which in many instances can be traced to the followers of the Ratana movement,” continues the report. “But in this respect, speaking generally, these objections are gradually being overcome, partly by persuasion of the departmental officers, and possibly by the waning of the Ratana teachings. “A good deal of opposition is still encountered by our councils and their village committees by the continued attempts of the Ratana element to usurp the powers and functions of the Maori Councils Act. In many instances these Ratana committees operate much to the detriment of our legally constituted bodies. However, by the determination of our chairman and members, these Ratana organisations are becoming less passive; but constant supervision is still necessary to keep them from becoming a real pest in the administration of the Act under which our Councils function. The Division continues its propaganda work against the people and by continued visits hopes to educate the misguided elements into departmental procedure in dealing with the native people. Work of Maori Councils “The Councils, with their organisations, spread as they are over the Dominion. are an enormous factor in the genera] uplift of the Maori people, as not only do they function as Maori local authorities, but exercise general supervision over the moral welfare of the race, provision for which has been made under the Act administered by our Councils. The Act and by-laws are at all times administered in a reasonable manner, but with sufficient authority to satisfy delinquets that the Maori Councils Act. like any other Act, must be strictly obeyed. The dictum of these bodies is respected, and it is on rare occasions they have to resort to the Magistrate’s Court to enforce their decisions. “Regarding the registration of deaths, many inquiries are submitted by the Registrar-General to this Divisionto Ascertain the probable cause of death, as the information is rarely supplied at the time registration is effected, owin;, to a great number of the cases not being attended by a medical man. We are, as a rule, able to obtain sufficient information to permit of a tentative diagnosis acceptable for registration purposes; but. reliable though the information gathered may be, I am compelled to state that such a system is one that is far from satisfactory. J am in agreement with my predecessor in office when he stated in last year 's report ‘Where any native died without being attended by a medical man or a departmental nurse an inquest should be held,’ believing it to be the only solution of safeguarding the native people against the treatment of unqualified persons and tohungas. The expense entailed may in many cases be prohibitive; but if this procedure were known to the natives 1 believe the matter of calling in either a medical man or a departmental nurse would soon be given effect to. knowing how abhorrent to the Maori mind an inquest is. and especially a post-mortem examination upon the dead. Villages No Longer Isolated “The isolation of many of the villages has now been removed by lhe opening-up of the country by improved reading-facilities, and thus medical aid is more easily obtained. Cases of neglect to seek medical or nursing advice that have ended fatally continue to be revealed, and in a very great number of instances were from the misguided elements of the Ratana following. Compulsory registration will ami does not solve the question. I am of opinion the cause of death should be demanded before burial, and where no medical advice has been given, then an inquest is the only means available for judging lhe accuracy of the cause of death. There are. large numbers of the Maoris who do seek medical aid, but there are. unfortunately, followers of various cults who will not avail themselves, although aware of the facilities offered by the Department for nursing service and free medical attention, if necessary, and it is regarding this clement that my re-

marks are specially directed. Native Population The Maori population, according to the latest figures available (April, 1927), totals 64,234, composed of 33,564 males and 30,670 females, of which 26.179 arc children under the. age of fifteen years. Although these figures show an increase of 11,483 over the figures of 1921, it does not follow that lhe Alaori will continue to exist as a distinct full-blooded race. In the year 1891 there were 14.9 to 1 Alaori. This has steadily increased until 1927, when the proportion was 21.4 Europeans to 1 Alaori. This external dilution must be considered as an enormous factor in affecting the distinctive culture of the Maori, and with improved education and conditions generally lead to interna] dilution of the race through increasing intermarriage. In 1891 the number of females per 1000 males was 823; in 1921 figures reached 890 and in 1927 had increased to 914. These figures reveal that an excessive preponderance of males does not exist amongst the native people ami therefore race extinction based on these lines need cause no apprehension.