Te Toa Takitini 7
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Te Toa Takitini
(Which grew out of Te Kopara)
Te Kopara followed Te Pipiwharauroa.
Te Pipiwharauroa followed He Kupu Whakamarama
which began in 1898.
Registered at the GPO as a Newspaper.
(Maori Version at PapersPast.)
Number 7, Hastings, 1 February, 1922.
A CHANGE OF YEAR – A DIVISION OF TIME.
In these days we have reached the beginning of the new year of our Lord, 1922. This is a significant summit each year when I think back and ask myself, ‘What good works have I done that will ensure that I am saved when the end comes? What am I going to do in this new year?’ On the basis of the words, ‘ask and it will be given to you, knock and it will be opened to you,’ I pray for strength. It is right that a person should examine himself and his works.
The coming of a new year is like the change of ages. The age of the ancestors it past, the age of our forebears at the time of the arrival of the Gospel and right up to the time Mahuta entered the New Zealand Government. That period is known as the Old World of the elders, the chiefs, the guides of the people. They rest from their labours. We are led to ask, ‘What did they achieve?’ (1) They brought New Zealand under English rule by the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. (2) There is the Faith and its works. (3) Some lands were given to help the Church of England schools. (4) Good lands were given on which to erect Maori schools. (5) Roads were made. (6) Maori towns grew. (7) There was loyalty to the Queen and her laws, that is, to the English Crown. Although they had participated in the wars before, the people suppressed those of their people who rejected the Queen’s authority. They achieved a great deal for the people by thinking of the days ahead.
My friends, the descendants of the chiefs of old, greetings to all of you in every place. I salute you on their behalf, those many chiefs whom I got to know over the many years during which I met with them. They were really good friends, real leaders, elegant in body and speech,
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strong and clear. As I speak these words in honour of them, there rises in me love for those many chiefs. I think of Taitoko, Te Kakakura and Tamahau at ‘the head of the fish’ [Wellington]; of Tiakitai, Tomoana and Te Uamairangi in Hawkes Bay; and many other leaders within the districts encompassed by the four seas of the country, those whom I saw.
Greetings to all of you, the recipients of their final words: ‘Afterwards, hold to Faith, Hope and Love.’ These are your days. Now bestir yourselves and be strong. Continue those great works that your forebears did for everyone.
Support the Faith and its works.
Hold on to the Maori language and teach it to your children.
Support Te Toa Takitini as a voice for the remnant of the Maori People.
Engage in the worthwhile work of farming.
Guide the children in the right paths.
Perhaps I am writing too much; I shall finish. May we all be blessed in doing the will of the Lord.
From your father, your ancestor from the old world.
Paratene Ngata.
WI PARAIRE RANGIHUNA.
On 17th January, Wi Paraire entered upon the long sleep. He died from asthma and TB. He was taken to Gisborne Hospital and eventually died there.
This young man went through Te Aute College and Te Raukahikatea. He learned Pakeha ways and the English language and became a teacher at Te Aute. While he was at Te Rau he was appointed a teacher to help the Principal.
He was made a Deacon on 22nd December, 1907, and a Priest on 28th August, 1910. He was very keen on playing rugby. In [?1898] he was one of the students who visited Nelson in the Te Aute College team which played the Nelson and Marlborough teams. His first parish was Nukutaurua.
He married Arihia Mataira of Nuhaka. While he was at Te Rau he was one of those who helped with Te Pipiwharauroa and Te Kopara. When he left the ministry he worked in the Government Land Office in Gisborne. He had not long finished working there when he died. He was a man treasured by Pakeha and Maori for his gentleness, cheerfulness, and wisdom.
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THE ANGELS
From the time of Ratana the Maori have often heard the word ‘Angels’ being used. Some use it correctly while some have no idea of what it means. Some of the ministers of our Church spoke with Ratana about this matter out of their concern that people were being wrongly taught things that did not agree with the scriptures.
Those who spoke to Ratana were Te Himoa (Rev Seamer) , Superintendant of the Wesleyan Maori Mission, Canon Arthur Williams, the younger Mr Williams from Whanganui, and Bennett, the Minister of Hastings. Ratana gave satisfactory responses. He said that is for you, the ministers, to find ways of rightly speaking of the Angels which ensure that they are distinct from the Holy Trinity.
We have no criticism of the Angels. From Chapter 3 of Genesis to the Revelation there are many references to the Angels. The practice of the Church of England is to observe a fixed day on which to remember the Angels – 29th September (See the Calendar), and there is a Collect, Epistle and Gospel for the Feast of Michael and All Angels.
There are some verses of scripture which help us to understand them.
1. The angels are servants of God. ‘He makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire.’ (Hebrews 1.7)
2. Believers will judge the angels. ‘Do you not know that we are to judge angels?’ (1 Corinthians 6.3)
3. People are not to pray to or worship of bow down to the angels who are created by God, as are human beings. ‘I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me; but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a fellow-servant with you and your comrades the prophets and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!’ (Revelation 22.8-9)
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4. There is only one mediator between God and humankind. ‘There is only one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all.’ (1 Timothy 2.5) Therefore we are not to make the angels mediators between humans and God. Remember also the first commandment given by God to Moses: ‘You shall have no other gods before me.’ (Exodus 20.1-2)
5. Worship of angels diminishes Christ. ‘Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. ‘ (Colossians 2.18-19)
There are other verses but these are sufficient to explain to us the nature of the angels. The following is a good statement relating to the Godhead and the Angels: ‘May the blessings of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit rest upon us all. May God send his holy angels to help us now and always. Amen.’ In these words we have called upon God to send his faithful angels to bless us. We have not worshipped them or included them in the nature of the Godhead.
There is in our Prayer Book this fine prayer to be used on the feast of Michael and All Angels: O Everlasting God, who hast ordained and constituted the services of Angles and men in a wonderful order: mercifully grant, that as thy holy Angels always do thee service in heaven, so by thy appointment they may succour and defend us on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Salute to the Tai-Rawhiti.
At the Ratana Hui, Emire Poraumati visited the Ngati Kahungunu tent to show her map and make her explanations. In gratitude Ngati Kahungunu passed around the hat and collected appreciative coppers from folk. There was almost £7 in the hat. The money was handed over as a gift to Emire. Emire did not want to accept the money but was pressed into taking it. That lady said that although she had spent a year going around preaching only once had Maori shown a similar concern for her. It was the Tai-Rawhiti who had that honour. ‘The labourer is worthy of his hire.’ [Luke 10.7]
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RATANA’S SERMON AT HIS CHRISTMAS HUI, 1921.
When the main service concluded on the marae, Ratana emerged with his family and the children of his choir. As they came all the people stood and took off their hats. When they arrived at the flagpole they knelt in silent prayer. Beside the flagpole were tables full on top and underneath of sacred native objects left behind by the sick along with walking sticks, bottles of medicine, spectacles and many other items which had belonged to those who had been healed of their illnesses. The speech was preceded by hymn 156, ‘E Ihu, e te Kingi nui.’ ‘Jesus, mighty King, hasten the day when the whole world will have faith in your name.’ Ratana prayed a short prayer before his sermon. These are some of the words of his sermon.
‘Canoes of this country, welcome, welcome, welcome on this day. Tribes and chiefly domains, greetings. People from the North, South, East and West gathered on this marae, greetings, greetings. Bring the circumstances of the tragedies of each district which are answered by this day. Bring also the deaths of the elders of my time. I have no laments for them. It is written, ‘earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.’ The circumstances of our tragedies are all bound together by this day. The body has perished but the soul has ascended to the presence of its Creator. Tomorrow it is 1920 years since the birth of Christ to be the Saviour of the whole world. I called this hui to celebrate that day. Where is the Maori People today? They are busy making money, busy about their pleasures. Do not be distressed. Maori think more of their money, of their sheep and their cows than of God. Thirty thousand people registered for this event. There are two thousand here. Where are the Maori people today? They are absorbed in the life of this world. If you devote your energy to yourself alone you are not going to gain anything.
This is the covenant that the Maori People need to sign up to. (Here he held up a large book.) What is said about this book is found in Revelation 20.15. Let it be made known. ‘Anyone whose name was not found in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.’ Where is that book? Here, here (and Ratana struck his book with his hand). The people who sign will be saved.
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You are devoting all your energy to making money. With what result? Some are following the path of education. What is the fruit of education for the Maori People? I was not taught in the schools like my minister friends. I just learned; it was something given to me. I am confirming the work of our ministers and of other Churches of our Faith. Over the past three years you and the ministers have seen my ways. If they were wrong it was pointed out to me. If I do anything malicious, or follow the ways of the Maori tohunga, or behave like those who mock me, point it out to me. If I have spread the devil’s seeds amongst you then tell me. Look at the fruit of the past three years. The fruits are genuine, like those of Jehovah. I am not going to speak for long. But if I am wrong, tell me. Here are those I invited to this hui. (Here the names were read out.) Where are the tohunga? Where are the people who condemn my work? Stand up while the sun is shining.’
When he finished his sermon, some of the country’s chiefs stood to pay their respects to Ratana. Some of those who stood to greet him were Wiri Henare of Ngapuhi, Keritoke of Waikato, Tiaki Rewiri of Mataatua, Paora Otene of Ngati Whatua, Nepia of Ngaiterangi, Tamihana Paikea of Ngati Whatua, Makoare of Ngapuhi and Nau Paraone of Whangarei.
Ratana’s Speech.
After the speeches, Ratana stood up to speak again: ‘On 9th November, 1918, I began to experience this revelation and to speak to my own people. The people said that what I was doing was mad. My own hapu would not pay attention to me. But this enlightenment could not be extinguished. Be happy today because the bridegroom has come to you. You shouldn’t think in this way – that Healing comes from Ratana. I have not said to the Pakeha that I can heal. Think of it like this: The blessings of God are there in a a water tank. The blessings will not flow out unless the tap is turned on; only then will the people receive those blessings. I, Ratana, am that tap. The total number of people who have signed the covenant is 19,640. The number of people on this marae today is 2,525. Where are the 17,000? Your oath is to be sincere in the presence of God. In the time of Christ those without faith were not healed. Neither will you see it if you do not believe.
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NEWS OF PARLIAMENT
(Written on 25th January, 1922)
A T Ngata
Here are a few items to add to those I sent to the last edition of the paper.
1. Concerning Puketitiri. On 2nd December, 1921, I received the following letter from the Minister of Lands (Hon Mr Guthrie).
‘This letter is in response to your letter of 19th October about the recommendations of the Commission about the land known as Puketitiri. It is to tell you that I have considered the matter and I agree to include a clause in the Pakeha ‘Washing-up Bill’ to implement the recommendations of the Commission.’
This month the Minister will honour his word. The clause he has added to the ‘Washing-up Bill’ which is before Parliament is Clause 40: ‘The provision for setting aside the land known as Puketitiri for forestry is abolished and that land will be designated as Native customary land (papatupu) under the Native Land Act 1909.’
The implications of this are clear. When the Bill is passed those with a claim to Puketitiri can submit them to the Maori Land Court to be assessed.
2. Concerning Aorangi and Patutahi. Sir Timi Kara and I met the Minister of Maori Affairs on 25th November. The request we laid before him was that he make a law this year requiring the Maori Land Court to investigate and report to the Government: (1) What is the appropriate recompense for the sufferings [?mate] of those who own this land? (2) Who are the appropriate people to receive that recompense? We are aware of the Government’s shortage of money this year but this should not be allowed to get in the way of this just cause. It will be good if the Court’s investigation goes ahead. It will not be the case that the things decided in that enquiry will not be open to appeal. When that work is completed perhaps the Government will be satisfied. The Minister replied that he would bring the matter up for discussion by the Cabinet. That was in November. It is now January and we have heard nothing from the Government. I know there is no money and so their thinking about such matters is dulled at this time.
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3. Concerning the Colleges.
The Maori Colleges are suffering from a lack of money. The parents of some of the children have not paid their children’s fees because of the difficulties of this time. The people who are leasing some of the school lands are not able to pay the rent money. The managers of some of the schools are thinking that if they do not receive any help they may have to reduce the number of children being sent to those schools or some of the schools may have to be closed completely. People, these are some of our greatest treasures and it would be terrible if anything happened to them. Your offspring are heading into a very Pakeha world and will have to contend with what happens there. The schools are the places where they will be taught to use the weapons appropriate for that battle. Therefore, we, the Maori Members, are looking for ways to help. We have found that one source of help could possibly be the old interest money handed over by the Maori Land Board to the Public Trustee (formerly it was transferred to the Maori Trustee). We have requested that £5,000 of that interest money be made available for the Maori Colleges.
The Minister of Maori Affairs has agreed to our request to add a clause to this year’s Maori ‘Washing-up Bill’ to bring this about. Today we have written to the Minister of Maori Affairs with our thoughts on how the money should be allocated. This is our list:
The School / Location / Number of Pupils / Amount in Pounds
St Stephens Auckland 83
Queen Victoria Auckland 49
132 1300
Turakina Turakina 25 250
Waerengaahika Gisborne 23 300
Te Aute Hawkes Bay 87
Hukarere Napier 86
175 1700
St Josephs Napier 44 450
M A C Hastings ? 300
Hikurangi Wairarapa 22 225
Otaki Otaki 17 175
Te Waipounamu Christchurch 16 300
5000
The number of pupils attending the school at Otaki is 51, but the number boarding at the school is 17. Waerengaahika and Te Waipounamu are struggling schools and so the amount of aid is greater.
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This matter has been left to the Minister of Maori Affairs for him to bring it to completion with the schools. We trust you will not criticize us, your Members, for this action. These are large amounts which we have dug out of the baskets of the law and we thought it should be made available to heal this sickness of ours.
4. The Tribal Territory of Tuhoe.
This week the bill was brought forward to put in place the means of consolidating land interests in the Tribal Territory of Tuhoe, which I explained in the last edition of Te Toa Takitini. The work is proceeding now. The Commissioners appointed to carry out that matter have arrived at Ruatoki and in Te Waimana to make decisions about the lands in the territory mentioned at the hui in August last year.
5. The Arrangements for Consolidating Interests.
At the meeting of the Court in Waiapu in the coming March the arrangements for Akuaku and some other blocks will be completed. There also the arrangements for consolidating the interests in the Waiapu Valley begun in June, 1921, will come before the Court for the first time.
In the last days of February a hui will be held at Waipiro to bring to a conclusion the work of consolidating the interests in the Waipiro area – those interests sold to the Crown and the interests held by Maori. In the second week of April the first hui will be held at Manutahi about consolidating land interests in the Tuparoa area.
I have taken up enough space, Sir Bennett, in this edition of our paper. Other matters can wait for another time when other Maori issues going through Parliament will have ripened. Best wishes to the committee producing the paper.
TOHUNGA OBJECTS.
Ratana showed the people the tohunga objects handed over by the sick after he had worked with them, when they swore to abandon these native practices. Some of these objects of native superstition were a pipe belonging to King Tawhiao, greenstone, money, a waistcoat, portraits, necklaces, shawls, coats, stones, and even dog poo which had been carefully wrapped up in rags. You Maori, what different gods you have!
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THE TAXING OF MAORI LAND.
I indicated in the last edition of Toa Takitini that I would send in an explanation of the great difficulties facing Maori land because of the Government tax policies.
Previously taxes were not imposed on Maori lands. In 1895 a law was passed which imposed on Maori lands a tax which would be half the ordinary land tax applied to Pakeha lands. But only Maori lands that had been leased to another person (whether Pakeha or Maori) were subject to the tax. While Pakeha lands paid one penny in the pound on the land valuation, Maori lands which had been leased paid a halfpenny in the pound. The person leasing the land paid that tax ro the Government but he took it out of the rent money he paid to the Maori. All of you are familiar with this practice. While this law was in force a small proportion of the rent money went to the Government taxes; most went to the people who owned the land. But as the lease drew nearer to its renewal date the value to the Maori would have increased considerably and the remaining taxes would also have increased. But no-one grumbled, no-one complained because the remedy was at hand when the land was returned and the lease renewed with a higher rental.
Then there was laid down a separate tax which was applied to Pakeha lands only – a tax devised by the Government of that time to frustrate Pakeha greedy for land. That tax was like a ladder. The portion of each pound taken of the valuation of the land was not the same, unlike the ordinary land tax explained above. The total value of the land was found and, if it was small, a smaller portion of the pound was taken in tax, while if it was large then the tax was higher. This kind of tax began with land valued at £5000 and it was imposed as follows:
£5,000 in value up to £10,000 - ⅛ penny for each pound
£10,000 „ £15,000 - ¼ „
£15,000 „ £20,000 - ⅜ „
£20,000 „ £25,000 - ½ „
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Then it climbs up the ladder until it reaches £210,000 when the tax is two pence for each pound in valuation. Many adjustments were made by Parliament as it set up this ladder as a means of dividing up the lands of those who had gobbled up land. It was conceived as a means of getting them to sell some of their land to other people. Each time it was amended the steps of the ladder were decreased. The final amendments were made in 1917 in the middle of the war. This graduated land-tax was not applied to Maori lands before the Act of 1917.
In 1917 the two kinds of tax were merged – the ordinary tax and the graduated tax. They were brought together so that there was only one form of tax – the graduated tax. The first step was a penny in the pound for land the value of which did not exceed one thousand pounds. Above this the tax went up by stages, a pound at each step, with a larger proportion of the pound on the next step being taken than from the step below. Eventually, when one arrives at the highest valuation, seven pence in the pound will be taken. If this tax had been confined to Pakeha and their lands we would not be talking about it, but extending it to Maori leased land causes problems.
We are in difficulties because we were misled by the Ministers in the Lower and Upper Houses. I asked, when the bill was being processed, if there would be any alteration to the taxing of Maori lands, the Minister said, no. That is still his attitude. We were thinking of that halfpenny in the pound. Subsequently we discovered that the Minister’s statement meant something different: that the tax on Maori land would continue to be half the tax on Pakeha lands, but the method of taxing Pakeha lands had been changed and that half of the [?kaha - ?amount] of that change would apply to Maori lands. This is the way, people, the present problems over our leased land came about. This is a major issue. There are 3,160,710 acres of Maori land
The table below clarifies the impact on leased Maori lands:
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Mangatu Number 1 (Gisborne)
Year Tax
1916-17 148 15 5
1917-18 1288 11 7
1918-19 1288 11 7
1919-20 1288 11 7
1920-21 3202 14 0
1921-22 4548 4 10
Notice the leap after 1917. In those years the taxes went up while the rent monies were set by the terms of the leases. Eventually all the rent money for 1921 was used to pay the taxes that year. Subsequently the rent money went up with the renewal of some of the leases.
Mangaheia 2D (Uawa)
Year Rent Tax
1916 1759 19 9 32 3 6
1917 1759 19 9 43 10 7
1918 1759 19 9 234 9 7
1919 1759 19 9 234 9 7
It remains the same up to this year. The rent money remains the same while the tax has increased.
Mangaheia A (Te Wairoa)
Year Rent Tax
1916 722 18 6 38 17 9
1917 722 18 6 39 10 7
1918 722 18 6 156 17 6
1919 722 18 6 275 3 1
1920 722 18 6 275 3 1
1921 722 18 6 428 15 9
1922 722 18 6 538 0 0
The rent remains the same while the tax has leapt up. Before the 1917 Act the amount of each pound taken in taxes was 1/1; after that Act it went up to 4/4 of each pound; then it climbed to 7/6 of each pound; now this year 14/10 of each pound is being levied in tax, leaving the people who own the land with 5/2 in the pound! Afterwards if the term of the lease is not ending soon all the rent money will go in taxes!
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The problem will be obvious to you. What is the remedy?
What I laid before the Prime Minister during this session of Parliament is as follows: in order to restrict the impact of the clawing [?manga] of the taxes, they should not exceed one third of the rental of the land, that is, it should not be more than 6/8d of each pound of rent, so that the greater part of the money remains for the home people.
Now there has been assigned to you, the people, a certain power in this matter. Each tribe and hapu in their area may gather together the details of the tax on each lot of land that is leased. Most of the details are with the offices of the Board; some are held by the Pakeha who are leasing; and some are with the trustees of the land. Before the June Parliamentary session of this year a petition was circulated by each tribe pointing out the terrible effects of the 1917 Act and its taxes on their leased lands. In this way we have been strengthened and in the coming session of Parliament we will bring this issue before the Government. We will not omit any part of these two islands nor will any Maori be left out. There is a proverb about this disaster:
Ehara i te aurukowhao, he takerehaia.
‘It is not a leak at the top-strake lashing
but an open rent at the bottom of the canoe. [cf Nga Pepeha 82]
RATANA
To the Editor of Te Toa Takitini.
I have seen the article by Arthur F Williams responding to my articles in Te Kopara, Te Toa Takitini, and the NZ Churchman. It has taken a long time to answer the article in Te Kopara and things may have cooled down. A F Williams uses a machinegun – there is one explosion but three bullets. But the content of the article in the NZ Churchman in December appears to be a response to my November article. The new words are the verses from scripture and the proverb
‘Te rangai maomao kua taka ki tua o Nukutaurua.’
The shoal of maomao passes beyond Nukutaurua. [cf Nga Pepeha 2158]
I query whether these are the words of Mr Williams himself or those of the editors of Te Toa Takitini.
I must censure the editor for not printing what I wrote in the NZ Churchman in answer to A F Williams’ article. How can anyone know how right A F Williams’ words are when my own were not published? Much of what A F Williams wrote strays
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from what I actually said, and are rather the inventions of his own heart. For example, he says that I and others say that there are no tohunga in the Ngati Porou area. This is a lie. Wereta and others are from here so how can it be said that there are no tohunga from here. There are Tutekohi and Hori Kingi. Very few of Ngati Porou follow them and knowledgeable people don’t agree with them. They are tohunga like Ratana but I must say that their people pray more than do those of Ratana. Hori Kingi’s people are close to death from prayer and fasting. And why does A F Williams speak about Ngati Porou when I did not write in the name of Ngati Porou but under my own name? A F Williams is hurt because I dare to criticize his tohunga, Ratana; I am not a tohunga. Look carefully at what A F Williams has written. I criticized the works of Ratana as lacking worship, lacking prayer, and lacking awesomeness, yet this Pakeha defends these, Ratana’s failings. It is no use quarrelling with such a person and correcting things that are clearly wrong. He is a contentious person. A F Williams says, ‘Ratana is a Maori and not a Pakeha and is familiar with Maori practices, Maori thinking and Maori tapu.’ Maori would certainly not countenance puffing a pipe while pronouncing the name of God to heal a person. It is certainly not the case that it is by going to University that a person learns the sacredness of working for God. A F Williams quotes, ‘a tree is known by its fruits.’ That is true. I have not seen a single fruit of the work of Ratana – no people who have been healed by him, no-one who has been brought to faith or has forsaken Maori tohunga. There is much fame but no fruit. I know Ratana and have seen and heard Ratana’s spokesman; it is not the case that I’ve not thought about things as alleged in some of the statements from Ratana’s supporters. I am very well informed.
A F Williams asks how I know that Ratana is a Maori tohunga? I reply that I know it because of his works, his words, his methods, and his attitude. I knew the man when I was editor of Te Pipiwharauroa and battling with Maori tohunga – Hemi Tokoaka, Karepa, Rua, Hikapuhi, Wereta, Pari Rekena and others. Ratana’s
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practices are like those of Wereta. Many people said that they were healed by Wereta, just as many say that Ratana healed them. Wereta gave his medicine in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Ratana does the same but he puts the Holy Angels alongside the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. If a person is not healed, Wereta says it is because of a lack of faith as do Ratana and A F Williams. I said in Number 62 of Te Pipiwharauroa in 1903: “Here perhaps is a tohunga who will not lay hands on a person but will simply say, ‘Arise, go, your faith has cured you.’” These were prophetic words of mine, for Ratana has fulfilled them.
I laugh at the words of the Pakeha who says that I am a Pakeha, and perhaps he is the Maori because he believes in the tohunga. And I wonder why it was left to a Pakeha to answer my articles about Ratana, and to teach us the meaning of this word, tohunga. Ratana has travelled around the country, large hui have been set up for him, he has used up his energy, and before long people will be bored with him as with other tohunga. My final word is a quotation from scripture in response to the verses of scripture in Te Toa Takitini: ‘For false christs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.’ (Matthew 24.24) ‘The elect’ – ministers, bishops and synods.
Reweti T Kohere
East Cape
December 26th, 1921
[The article by this ‘Pakeha’ is pretty amazing. He punishes equally severely with his hatchet the Editor, Arthur Williams, and Ratana, taunting even the bishops and the synods. ‘Re,’ don’t accuse the Editor and Arthur Williams of writing that letter together. The letter is by Arthur alone, right to the final fullstop. You know that the Williams Tribe is a family who know us very well, our language and our thinking. Some of them are far better informed about Maori customs than we are. As for your complaint that your letter to the NZ Churchman was not printed in this paper, I did translate it into Maori and it went to the press of Te Toa Takitini. Then the Editor saw the severity of your statements about Ratana and your letter was withdrawn. If Arthur Williams and Ratana wish to reply to Reweti’s article, they may do so in the next edition. – By the Editor.]
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THE FALL OF A RATA, THE LAUNCHING OF A TOTARA
T T P
On 26th August, Te Moerua Natanahira entered upon the long sleep. This man, Te Moerua, was the descendant of chiefs and a man who was energetic in promoting what was right amongst his tribe. He was a man praised by the Pakeha. He was the Chairman of the Maori Council of Maniapoto. His strength was particularly seen in the way he got the tribes of the area – Ngapuhi, Te Arawa, Waikato, Taranaki and his own Maniapoto tribe – to abide by the law. The tribes said that Te Moerua would not fine King Mahuta because he was the King. However he imposed a fine of £20 on Mahuta. Afterwards he summonsed his own father for not obeying his instruction that a body should be buried within three days. However neither his father nor the tribe obeyed his order. I arrived to see the trial of that case. The judge was saddened by the trial and was full of praise for Te Moerua. His father was fined £30. In 1913 a large hui was held in Wellington about issuing a license for the sale of liquor within the Tribal Territory, the King Country. He was the one who attended to oppose that proposal. In his speech he said, ‘ On the day the King Country was opened up for the railway, my father, Wahanui, did not want alcohol to come into the King Country. Therefore I am calling upon the Ministers to help me.’ Now he has died and perhaps his descendants will permit alcohol. But as Paul says, ‘He being dead yet speaketh.’ [Hebrews 11.4] And David’s lament is appropriate: ‘Weep for Moerua who has kept you safe in all you have done.’
A SERMON BY ARCHDEACON HERBERT WILLIAMS.
Preached on 13th November, 1921, in Christchurch.
‘I am not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet.’ Amos 7.14
According to the notice my sermon tonight is about ‘Ratana and his works’
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and I am happy to let that be my subject. However, those who have come to hear wonderful stories of the healing of the sick may be disappointed that I don’t speak of such things. Those kinds of stories have been printed in the newspapers over recent months.
Ratana would agree with the words in the verse from Amos. He was not born a prophet nor was he taught that occupation. He is a true Maori and has many of the weaknesses of the Maori. He belongs to the Church but he has not thought deeply about the teachings of the Faith. The thing that changed him was the illness of his son which troubled the doctors.
In his sorrow his thoughts went to the words which he often uses, ‘The prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up.’ [James 5.15] He decided to apply this word and the words of our Lord concerning praying in faith. It was difficult for him in the beginning as he struggled with his ‘little faith.’ At length he succeeded and his son was healed. Then he thought about his friends who were ill, about healing them of their sicknesses. At this time his fame spread and, because Maori were following him in large numbers, the Government set about erecting a railway station and to extend the timetable so that the sick could travel conveniently. Most returned well; some thought they had been healed. People from distant places wrote letters and he replied to the letters. The stories say that the healing power of the letters was the same as if people had met him personally. He visited many Maori areas, confining his work to his own Maori people, and in those areas many hundreds of sick came to him. At that time thousands of Pakeha wrote telling him of their sicknesses. He answered those letters, pointing out the means whereby they could get well just as he did with Maori, and many ill Pakeha people got better.
There were many articles in the newspapers about the ‘Maori Miracle Man’ (the Maori man who works miracles). His fame reached beyond these islands. The Synods passed motions praising Ratana’s work. There were many articles about
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his ability to stir up the spiritual side of his people.
I have told you of the supportive side; let me also tell you of the critical side. Some educated Maori are not happy with Ratana’s activities. Some say they smack of the work of tohunga. Some people I know are very sad at the way he goes about his work with the sick. He smokes his pipe while doing his work, and sometimes what he says is mischievous. And subsequently some of those who had been healed discovered that their healing did not last. There was a letter signed by three doctors about a woman who was lying in hospital seriously ill with cancer. When a letter from Ratana arrived she believed she was healed. She was distracted but did not live. In one village Ratana and his associates argued with one of the ministers of the Church. In the morning, a Sunday, he and his party left the village, leaving the sick without seeing them.
Such evidence troubles us. So let us look at his work and practices and the basis of his work.
I don’t think Ratana likes the name, ‘Maori Miracle Man.’ He strongly asserts that any healings seen are not done by his own power. He strongly combats and condemns the work of tohunga. People who go to tohunga are forsaking God. One of his illustrations is, ‘If your watch goes wrong, do you take it to a carpenter or to a blacksmith? No, you take it to the watch-maker. What is different about how you deal with your body? It was not made by the tohunga. God made you and will heal you if you trust in him.’
[The rest of the sermon could not be translated because of a lack of Maori words. It concluded with a request from the Archdeacon that people pray for Ratana. Mr Williams did not mock or deride Ratana but expressed the hope that he would continue in the path of faith. – The Editor]
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THE RAT
A meeting of the Department of Health Inspectors was held in Wellington during January. One of the doctors, Dr W F Findlay, spoke about the rapidity of reproduction of the rat. After two and a half months the rat is able to begin reproducing.
The rat gives birth six to eight times a year. The rat is pregnant for twenty-five days before giving birth. In ten months the young of a single rat can number eight hundred (800)!
There were discussions of the rat with the doctor pointing out that the rat could bring the plague. That illness is carried by the fleas on the rat. Therefore continue killing rats.
Children with serious chest infections should take Woods’ Great Peppermint Cure, 1/9, 2/9 a bottle.
