G.—lo.

people into the present-day conditions of New Zealand. They have in the tribal organization already referred to an instrument for publicity and the promulgation of schemes and ideas. The occasions f#r its use are the gatherings, hui, tangi, and feasts, so often deprecated by well-meaning friends and advisers of the Maori, who see in them nothing but extravagance, waste of valuable time, danger to health, and the perpetuation of undesirable customs. The average European has not realized that the promulgation of the ideas he has so persistently sought to impose on the Maori people was not possible without recourse to the old-time method of discussion on the marae (the village courtyard) or in the runanga or meeting-house. Apropos of this, Dr. Buck writes : — " When I look back and think of the things that we have discussed on the various marae throughout New Zealand I can say that the Maori people have been served by its leaders in a wonderful way. And the leaders can look to the work of years in the field comprised by the marae and the meetmg-house for the experience they need in propagating the schemes for the development and settlement of land. Whether it is a Prince of Wales Cup match, a tennis tournament, the ceremonial opening of a carved meeting-house, the unveiling of a memorial to a distinguished member of the race, or the tangi and minor gatherings, the tribes or representatives of them have been brought together and the meetings have led to the constant promulgation of the latest opinions." One more quotation from Dr. Buck may be given to emphasize the value of the method adopted in impressing cultural adjustment on the Maori mind through the marae and runanga house, using the tribal organization. Thus Dr. Buck: — " Our cousins the HaWaiians are being rapidly absorbed, if not already, into the Nirvana of American citizenship. Our remote kinsmen, the Samoans, are in the rut of customs so deep that able-bodied men sit round providing coconut sennit and parcelling out governing positions among themselves over a mandated country. Between the two there should be a balance that moulds together the assimilable good of each culture. It seems to me, gazing round the Pacific from the metaphorical top of Maunaloa, that the Maori race are the only branch that are struggling to maintain their individuality as a race and moulding European culture to suit their requirements. The tangi, the hui, and Parliament have kept us together, and by providing exchange of ideas amongst the tribal leaders have stimulated tribal ambitions, which added together form an ideal for the people as a whole. Some day pakeha thinkers may realize how much diplomacy was used by the Maoris amongst themselves and towards the white man in order that development of the country would ensue. The marae and the meeting-house that formed the arena of many a stage in the upward and forward progress of Maori public opinion, how are we to express them in terms that carry value to the pakeha mind ? Scientists and skilled writers may use Maori facts to record what progress the Maori has made. They may get the facts cold and value them at some economic standard, but the mental sweat, the patient arguing and psychological stress cannot be put into the picture. Yet it is just that which cannot be measured by an orthodox system of valuation which forms the greatest contribution that men like Carroll, Pomare, and others gave to the people and the country." Referring to the tribal system, of which so much has been said in this statement, Dr. Buck says : — " Our experience with our own people has been that we have had to study the idiosyncracies of individual tribes and avoid the assumption that they all think alike because they are Maori. The advantage that knowledge of one branch confers is that of giving the possessor a quick insight through allied dialect and custom and thought to an appreciation of the manners and customs of a kindred people. The tribal independence has always been present. Though coming from approximately the same area, it is probable that the canoes came from different islands. It may be that our canoes brought little differences with them from their home islands. These they maintained in the new land. I have always felt, since my Polynesian wanderings, that New Zealand was composed of a number of islands in spirit though connected by land. The area was too large for one man to subdue and create one absolute autocracy, such as happened in some of the Polynesian groups. - Besides, we bred too warlike a spirit for one canoe area to submit to another for long. What was impossible by means of war is now rendered possible by peace. Before a spiritual unity and a race consciousness could be evolved, each canoe area had to settle its own problems. The tribal spirit has been such that they were not too ready to accept outside assistance or advice. The ancient suspicion aggravated by the disasters of the transitional period " [referring to the Maori wars and confiscations] " had to be cleared away before race consciousness could take birth. The East Coast effort, which commenced as a purely local tribal attempt, is bound to stir the manhood of other tribes to thought and effort, lest they be shamed. Emulation must be inspired. The tribal spirit and canoe rivalry should blaze up, and out of this will emerge a race consciousness. I can hear the chiefs of old crying across the marae, ' Kia rangona to ingoa ! '■—' Let your name be heard.' " Dr. Buck has been quoted extensively in order to sum up the human factors in the Maori tribes which must still be dealt with tribally and in the ancient method of discussion on the village courtyard and in the meeting-house by men and women who, now inspired in various ways to their mission, have the social and mental approach and gifts developed by constant use. His qualifications are too well known to be referred to here; but one that should appeal to his Maori friends and relatives is that by going away from his homeland he has placed himself as on some far-off peak, where he may get a perspective of the whole picture of Maori life and effort. Our review of the various factors that come into play to-day in relation to the movement for the development and farming of land by the Maoris may now be brought to an end. We have regarded

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