Material Conditions of Harmony

Te Ao Hou, August 1957, Page 10

Material Conditions of Harmony It is said that the Maori has as wide a range of ability as the European. Advantage should be taken of this natural aptitude by making sure that the Maori is granted opportunities in a variety of occupations more or less foreign to him at the moment. By doing this, gradually responsibility and a new attitude to work will be built up. It might well be asked why the Maori should be expected or encouraged to attain European standards of work? The first answer is that it is in the national interest, and is “good business” for the community in general to see that the Maori people who make up one-fifteenth of the population become healthy and self-reliant members of the community. The second answer is that unless the material standards and even the ways of the Maori people approximate more closely to those of the Europeans, it may become increasingly difficult for two races whose material standards differ markedly to live together in harmony. This situation would be a denial of the Christian doctrine of the equality of man proclaimed two thousand years ago. Since the beginning of the century the Maori has been rapidly assimilating the European ideas about work, and the period of prosperity of the last ten years has helped considerably in quickening the pace of progress. Much could be said about the Maoris innate ability for many roles in a modern community. There is a feeling amongst many enlightened Europeans that because economic security is attainable in normal cases by the Maoris' own effort there should be no reason for any concern about the place of the Maori in a modern community. But is economic security the only answer to the burning question of the future of the Maori To me the answer is clearly “No”. Two more important needs are spiritual security and social security. He must be made to feel that he is accepted as a full and valued member of society. The Churches must provide the Maori with spiritual security and they can help greatly in providing greater social security in the sense first described. If the Maori is denied the normal opportunity of achieving a social position acceptable to him in the new society which the European is encouraging him to enter, he will seek this prestige in un usual ways. These are the usual ways which people of all races adopt to make up for their low status. The development of these undesirable traits is often a step towards delinquency or crime. All these help to bring about a certain amount of tension and strained relations between our two races. My experience is that if the average European is made aware of the difficulties at present facing the Maori, he is always willing to help them to become a full and recognised partner in our social structure. What the European partner wants to know is how he can help. At the present time the best thing he can do is to encourage his Maori partner to find and feel his feet. He will need to help the young Maoris who are trying to enter the more advanced type of jobs by providing the openings which will enable this to be done.