One of the most important karakia was used in the tua cermony after severing the navel cord of the child. In Maori lore this was a most important ceremony. The incantation commences with the dedication to god of war, Tu: Tohi ki te wai no Tu! Whano koe—tangaengae, Ki te hopu tangata—tangaengae, Ki te piki maunga—tangaengae, Me homai—tangaengae, Mo te tama ne. Sprinkle with the water of Tu! Go thou—navel cord, To catch men—navel cord, To climb mountains—navel cord, Let these be given—navel cord, For this male child. The chanting of the more powerful karakia is a beautiful and dignified ceremony, emotive and a privilege to take part in, even as a spectator. If the performance of Karakia was to die out a form of expression peculiar to the Maori race would be regrettably lost. (Sources: Buck, Williams, and Best).

TO VISIT AMERICA Mr J. F. Robertson, who has been awarded a Commonwealth Fund Scholarship, has for some time been Administration Officer in the Department of Maori Affairs, and left for America at the end of last month. Mr Robertson will spend a year in U.S.A., studying the problems of reorganisation of government agencies. He will spend seven months at the Centre for Advanced Study at the Brooklings Institute in Washington as a guest scholar, and will be given special facilities for research at the Federal Bureau of the Budget. He will also study State Government reorganisation programmes.

AFTERTHOUGHTS ON A HUI TOPU by LEO FOWLER WELL, ANOTHER HUI TOPU is over. There seems to be general agreement that the 1960 Hui at Rotorua was, in some ways, bigger brighter and better than ever. There's no doubt that these Hui Topu gatherings are growing. Originally, I believe, the Hui Topu was purely a diocesan function, a Synod gathering of clergy, synodsmen, elders of the constituent parishes, and their families. I remember that the third Hui Topu, held at Ruatoria in 1955, was regarded as having a record attendance with something like a thousand people. Each succeeding year has seen the numbers grow. Wairoa, Ruatioki and Whangara saw more and larger visiting parties from the sister dioceses of Wellington and Waikato. At Omahu, in 1959, a small delegation from Auckland attended for what I believe was the first time. This was, as it were, an exploratory visit. It bore fruit this year in the attendance of a large party from Auckland and North Auckland. This continued growth has given rise to two opposing schools of thought. There are those who think the Hui is becoming too big, too unwieldy, too costly and too difficult to organise and control. On the other hand there are those who welcome this growth, year after year, as a healthy sign. These people see, as a logical development of this growth, a gathering so important and valuable to clergy and laity alike of the Maori Anglican Church that it should no longer be the affair of one diocese, under the bishop of that diocese, but should be planned on a yet larger scale to include