RACE RELATIONS

Te Ao Hou, June 1960, Page 51

RACE RELATIONS “Brown Conflict” by Leo Fowler. George G. Harrap. English price, 13s. 6d. Reviewed by the Rt. Rev. W. N. Panapa, Bishop of Aotearoa. I can recommend Mr Fowler's book to all New Zealanders, both Pakeha and Maori, as one that we can all read at the present time profitably, and that for three reasons. Firstly, it comes at a time most opportune when race relationship in New Zealand and all the world over is more than merely a live topic. Perhaps we in the past have opened our mouths too widely and given the impressions that we lead the world in the matter of racial integration. It is a good thing that we should take stock of ourselves and realise that no one is necessarily accepted on reputation but only on one's daily worth; and whether we like it or not, we must be ready and willing to suffer for the misdemeanour of our own people. Secondly, the title of the book is a good one and true: “Brown Conflict”. It was conflict right from the beginning and it is well for us to remember that only through conflict can we measure up to one another and find, in the words of Robert Burns, “a man's a man for a' that.” The historical background of the book was an interesting period in New Zealand history during the latter part of the nineteenth century. And so the story unfolds itself in a milieu of the pioneering days as the years of conflict, the settlers wanting more land, and the Maoris fighting to retain it. As the Maori proverb puts it succinctly: “He wahine he whenua e mate ai te tangata.” Man dies for his womenfolk and land. And last but not least, in that particular setting, Mr Fowler tells his story well and ture. All his characters are more than fictional, indeed they are live persons we have all met down the years. Perhaps one could best sum up one's own impression of a delightful book by quoting the old adage, “Truth is stranger than fiction.” “On this site stood Mawhera Pa where James Mackay completed the deed of sale of Westland with the Maoris—May 21, 1860.” Thus reads the inscription on the plaque which is to be erected in Tainui Park, almost opposite the end of the Cobden Bridge on the Greymouth side. It was unveiled on May 21. MODERN BOOKS 48a Manners Street, Wellington C.I.