MAORI MEMORIES

Wairarapa Daily Times, 14 June 1933, Page 4

MAORI MEMORIES

(By J.H.S., for “The Daily Times.”) “NOT UNDERSTOOD.” The late Mr William Gray, whose father was one of the earliest secretaries to. control the destinies of the Ct.P.O. of New Zealand, also guarded as a dutiful son should, the good name of the Telegraph Branch, forty or fifty years ago the Maori delighted in the facilities offered by that branch of the Government service, where free pen, ink, and paper were provided, and even stamps on telegrams were licked by the obliging official. A very stringent regulation guard's against the use of indecency or profanity in telegrams for which a term, of hard labour in prison is the punishment. Mr Gray and his officers would have had many an electric .shock if they could only have translated literally one. half the innocent Maori .telegrams presented for transmission. The disingenuous Maori speaks of everything pertaining to nature in a perfectly natural way, and sees no impropriety in writing' it so. Having, for instance, no formal marriage, it ! ‘naturally follows that there is no word for that 'ceremony in his vocabulary.- A pakeha who knew but ■little of the language, and was correspondingly proud of his recent ments in it, wished to ascertain from a lady friend the.date of her coming marriage. He telegraphed her as■ follows: “Awhea koe ka moe tone ? ’ ’ This simple .message was intercepted en route at Wellington, .shown to the horrified Chief. Secretary, and referred to his Inspector with a, view to prosecuting the sender, who, when the literal words were explained in English, agreed that ■it should not be delivered to the lady. From the Maori point it was quite free from guile.. All future Maori messages questioned by the officials were passed by an interpreter.