Dominion News

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 74, Issue 121, 25 May 1931, Page 9

Dominion News

, Maori Gathering One of the largest gatherings ol j Maoris for many years took place re ecnlly at Te Teko, in the Whakatam ! district. This hui was arranged to tin veil a monument to the memory ol : Manta Rangitukeliu, a former chieftain css of the Ngatiawa tribe. .Maata was much respected, her ancestors dating back to the great migration from Ha waiki. Her lather, Rangitukeliu. was that loyal chief who gave the necessary powder, ammunition, and aid to seize the once famous Te Toko pa from the Hauhaus during the Maori wars. Maoris and the Navy 1 Aller the service on Sunday night at i Mr Atua Tankoi’s residence at Moto- , rna. New Plymouth, which was attend- | cd by a number of the crew <f H.M.S. Veronica, Atua presented to the chief warrant olli" *r there a Maori cloak, or puhenua, a mere, which Atua carried in the Peace Day procession in New Plymouth, and :i tipara, or headgear, decorated with a white feather, the Tc Whiti emblem. In making the pre sentation Atua spoke of the protection I the Navy gave to the Maoris, and these ! gifts were a slight recognition of this. I The feather in the head-dress was an j emblem of peace, which he hoped would | always be maintained. The recipient suitably acknowledged tnc gift on behalf of the Veronica’s company. Auckland to the Bluff To walk from Auckland to the Bluff and back on crutches is the task which a disabled unemployed man has set himself. He expects that the journey will take him more than two years to accomplish, and his object, he says, is to prove that he represents a genuine case of a man who has tried in vain to obtain some form of permanent employment. The man is Mr William Adamson. He went to the war at the age of 15, saw four years’ service in Prance without being wounded, and returned to New Zealand to obtain permanent employment as a porter. Four years ago lie was involved in a collision between a motor-cycle and a train, and he had his right leg amputated. Since then Mr Adamson has been unable to obtain any permanent employment, and all that he has been able to do has been to eke out a meagre existence by peddling bootlaces and tiepins. It ia his intention to stop for a few hours at every town through which he passes. He will not ask for lifts in motor-cars, but if they are offered hr will take them in order to reach the next town on his road. No long lifts will be accepted. He will carry a book, and at each town at which ho stops he will apply to the local council or town board for its stamp or to a J.P. loi his signature. Tho only credential ho will carry is a letter of introduction from an Auckland solicitor, with whom he went to school, and who can vouch for the genuineness of his case. For the Children The Government has received from the High Commissioner for New Zealand in London a parcel of clothing made up by the children who are inmates of the Royal {Soldiers’ Daughters’ Home, a well-known orphanage, situated in Hampstead, London, for distribution amongst children who have suffoied as a result of tho Hawke’s Bay earthquake. The Government has ‘written to the Hawke 's Bay Hospital Board, foiwarding the clothing and asking that body to undertake the distribution of the articles of clothing in accordance with the wishes of the donors. Understood English. An engaging smile, suggesting a happy disregard of his position, overspread the features of a young Maori in the New Plymouth Police Court on Wednesday when he was asked in formal terms to plead to a charge couched in legal phraseology. He did not reply. “Do you understand English?” asked tl’.c clerk. There was no reply. “'Yes, he undeistauds English, all right,” said a police officer. Then, turning suddenly towards the dock, he shouted, “Are you guilty?” “Yes,” said tho native, still smiling. Shortage of Water A long spell of dry weather has resulted in a serious shortage of water a*; Runanga says tho Grey River Argus. For the past week two motor-lorries, one belonging to the Mines Department and the other to Borouogh Council, have been engaged in delivering water to residents. A public meeting has been calie< to discuss ways and means of dealing with tho present situation, and to go into tho matter of provision of a permanent water supply. Something will have to be done immediately, as the dam at tho Seven Mile, from which the water is now being obtained, is pq/irly dry. Cobden residents have also been considerably Inconvenienced b v the dr j, spell. __________