Te Toa Takitini 9
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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 9, Hastings, April 1, 1922.
THE MORIORI
The Chatham Islands is the final dwelling-place of the Moriori. There are two full Moriori still living, and elderly lady and her nephew. Their language has been recorded in books by the Pakeha. When these elderly Moriori die we will lose both them and the language. However the books have been placed in boxes and sealed. They had two famous canoes, Rangihoua and Rangimata. Rangihoua was the first Moriori canoe to land here on the Chatham Islands. They migrated because of fighting. Rangimata was the canoe that followed. The occupants of these two canoes fought with each other. Moriori fought many battles. Before the Taranaki Maori arrived on the Chathams the Moriori hapu fought each other. This was the major Moriori battle. However in the middle of the battle, Nunuku, a chief from on board Rangimata, made peace. He said that they should cease killing people and that the two hapu should unite and concentrate on increasing the population. Peace was made and the two hapu became one. The population increased so that the Chathams were full of people. Perhaps this saying, that every part of the Chathams was occupied, is true, and that if someone wanted a piece of land at the extremity of an island he would ask the person next to him who would ask the person next to him and eventually the request would get to the one for whom it was intended. Whatever part of the island it was, it appears as though the word would get around as if carried by the telephone. So if there were fifty thousand people filling the Chathams the word would pass from one person to the next until it reached its destination. The fall in population from fifty-thousand to the surviving two is no small thing. With the arrival of the Maori, some were killed, some were made slaves, the land was seized, and the people were forced to speak Maori.
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Eventually, in 1871, the Government ordered Judge Rogan to go to the Chathams to settle disputes about land and to allocate come of the land to the Moriori for them to live on. Perhaps two hundred Moriori remained after the slaughter by the Maori and the arrival of the Pakeha and law. But even after the arrival of the law the Moriori did not flourish and they did not flourish because their mana had been usurped by the Maori.
Te Hau Mataira
A MEMORIAL STONE FOR TE HEUHEU
A NOTICE
Friend, I am sending this horopito fruit and inviting you to carry to the three islands the decision of the remnant of Tuwharetoa around Lake Taupo. On the day after the day on which our Lord rose, Easter Day, 1923, the memorial stone to Te Heuheu will be unveiled, and Kahotea Heuheu and Heehe Tamaira will be placed in the stone mausoleum of their father.
Come and bring, bring the kawakawa head-bands left by our forebears, old men and women, as a treasure for us [ki nga mate tara-whare]. Therefore, our love and tears and greetings go out to our favourite relations who will come with their children on the day of the unveiling of their stone.
Arrive on the marae at Waihi during the two days before the feast of the resurrection of our Lord, 1923.
Welcome, welcome, welcome.
From the men and women, the remnant of Tuwharetoa at Te Aupouri around Lake Taupo.
Waihi, Tokaanu.
2nd March, 1922.
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BELGIUM AND NEW ZEALAND
The country of Belgium is known to the whole world. But it is a very small country. Nine Belgiums would be the size of New Zealand. Despite its smallness it has a large population of more than seven million. We who live in New Zealand number one and a quarter million. If the same density of population lived in New Zealand as live in Belgium we would number sixty million.
EASTER DAY.
The sixteenth of April is the Sunday of the Resurrection. Te Toa Takitini reminds its readers of two things:
1. The Book of Common Prayer in Maori (p. 209) says, ‘Remember that all parishioners are to partake of the Lord’s Supper three times a year, Easter being one of those occasions.’ The purpose of that statement is that a person should never partake of the Lord’s Supper fewer than three times a year. And a person does not fulfil that obligation if they fail to take communion at the service on Easter Day. Wherever you happen to be you should try to receive communion on this day. This is the rule of the Church.
2. In the same rubric we find these words: ‘During Easter each year the people of the parish are to bring appropriate contributions to be given to the Minister.’ The object of this instruction is that you show your concern for your Minister particularly at this time whether in the church or in your dealings outside. All the offerings on this day go to the Minister. The money in the collection plate is not to be counted by the Churchwardens but is to be given to your Ministers. This is the day which the universal Church decrees should be the occasion when the congregations show their gratitude to their Ministers. Our Bishops have instructed the Parishes to give gifts to their Ministers on this day.
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LETTERS SENT TO US.
Thank you all who send letters to our paper. Do not be upset if your letters are not printed when there is no room in the paper. Remember too that we have to pay the printers of our paper a pound a page. The December issue had twenty-four pages and we had to pay a similar number of pounds for that month. The February edition had twenty pages and it cost almost twenty pounds for the printing and postage. Therefore we have to choose carefully the articles to print to balance the pounds and the pages. The paper likes to have articles which contribute to the betterment of the Maori People. Although the paper is produced in Hastings you can see that Ngati Kahungunu does not take over the contributions to the paper. But there is no place in the paper for boastful, deprecatory or mocking articles. Also articles sent in should not be too long. If you send in articles remember that each page will cost us a pound. Some ask that their articles be printed in full without any omissions. If there is no space in the paper those letters will not be printed.
THE COST OF FOOD.
The cost of food and clothing for people in New Zealand is going down. Now the Government is publishing the fall or rise of prices. This month’s notification shows that the figure for the cost of food has gone down to 47%. The cost of food during the month prior to the war, July 1914, was taken as the base line. The calculation of 47% this month shows that the cost of everything is 47% more than it cost in 1914. The time when things were most expensive in New Zealand was in December 1920. The figure for that month was settled at 78%. Now it has gone down from 78 to 47. However the figures from other parts of the world show us that we appear to have got off easily in New Zealand compared with other places in the world. The figures are: South Africa 143, Australia 42, New Zealand 47, America 50, Canada 50,Holland 59, England 85, Sweden 111, Denmark 136, Norway 181, France 226, Belgium 334, Italy 359, Finland 1257, Germany1814. If we calculate carefully the cost to Germany we find that food and clothing and other goods which cost £1 in 1914 now cost £18 and some shillings to purchase.
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THE TREATY OF WAITANGI
An Explanation
(by A T Ngata, MA, LLB)
[A booklet was published for The Maori Purposes Fund Board in1922. It contains Ngata’s Maori text and an English translation by M R Jones. I reproduce his translation. – Barry Olsen]
It was on the 6th day of February, 1840, when the Treaty of Waitangi was made. Waitangi is part of the Bay of Islands in the northern part of the North Island. It was made between Governor William Hobson on behalf of Queen Victoria and the Maori chiefs who gathered there that day. It was afterwards that some copies of Treaty were taken to various parts of the island even to the South Island and was signed by Maori chiefs of the various tribes.
Altogether there were 512 signatories. From then to now the Treaty and provisions therein have been the subject of discussion by learned men and the administrators of Maori affairs. At the present time the Treaty is widely discussed on all marae. It is on the lips of the humble and the great, of the ignorant and of the thoughtful.
It was an old lady who asked me quite recently, ‘Now, you tell me what are its conditions and why is it the subject of discussion on the maraes?’ I wondered then whether she was right and it was wrong for the name of the Treaty to be so freely discussed on the lips of our women-folk, when the provisions contained therein were not clear to them.
The Treaty of Waitangi was first written in the English language and then translated into the Maori language. The draft was actually written by Governor Hobson and Busby (who was the previous administrator for the Queen before Governor Hobson) corrected it. This is what Busby said and it was printed in the Parliamentary Papers for the year 1861: ‘The draft of the Treaty was made by me and was approved by Captain Hobson. He made a few alterations but the fundamental provisions were not altered.’
Some of Busby’s descendants lived at Kairakau near the coast in Hawkes Bay, and later at Tokomaru (Waiapu) where some of the grandchildren still reside. The Maori version of the Treaty was by Henry Williams, referred to as the Four-eyed Williams, one of the ancestors of the sub-tribe of the Williams.
The English expressions in the Treaty were not adequately rendered into Maori. There were minor parts left out. However, the Maori version clearly explained the main provisions of the Treaty, therefore, let the Maori version of the Treaty explain itself.
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What is a Treaty? In accordance with the Maori language, it is an agreement between two or more people having authority and agreeing between themselves to certain wide powers affecting them all. The document on which these powers and agreements are recorded is called a treaty. Let the actual Maori version of the Treaty now show.
The Heading of the Treaty.
This is the heading of the Treaty setting out the reasons for the making of the Treaty:
‘Victoria, the Queen of England, in Her feeling of affection towards the Chiefs of the Tribes of New Zealand and in Her desire to retain to retain for them their Chieftainships and also that peace may reign and they live happily, has thought it wise to send a High Personage as Her representative to negotiate with the Maori people of New Zealand, the Maori Chiefs, to agree to the Government of the Queen having access to all parts of the land including the islands. This is by reason of the fact, that so man of the members of Her race were living in this land, and many more were coming. Now, the Queen has thought it good to send me, William Hobson, a Captain of the Royal Navy to be Governor for all parts of New Zealand, to be ceded now and for ever to the Queen and che invites the Chiefs of the assembled tribes of New Zealand and other Chiefs to accept the following provisions.’
This is the heading explaining the reasons why Governor Hobson was sent by Queen Victoria, Queen of England and Her other lands to arrange conditions between the Queen and the Chiefs of the Maori people. The main purport is in the words, ‘This is by reason of the fact that so many of Her race were living in this land and many more were coming.’ Therefore the Queen was desirous to establish a Government with a view to avert the evil consequences to the Maori people and to Europeans living under no laws.
These are very wise words. It was correct that many Europeans had settled throughout both islands, missionaries and their families, European sellers of goods, whalers, sailors, thieves and murderers. It had been stated that 500 convicts had escaped from Australia and were living in various parts of the Bay of Islands just prior to the
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Treaty. Maori authority had no affect on them but they often disturbed the Maori people. Neither did the laws of the Queen affect them by reason of the fact that the Queen had no authority over these islands. According to the records of the missionaries, one thousand of the Maori were murdered by the Europeans in the years prior to the Treaty, and we have also heard of the Maori people murdering Europeans. These were lawless times. Therefore the Queen ‘was desirous to establish a Government with a view to avert the evil consequences to the Maori people and to Europeans living under no laws.’
Now these were the important words, ‘living under no laws.’ It was the European conscience of the man who formulated the words of the Treaty who saw that this was the main trouble throughout North and South Islands. This was the trouble which was forcing itself to be remedied – lawlessness. This conflicted with Maori custom, the authority of Maori Chiefs of cannibal times, of illiterate days and the individualistic European ideas of the European who had strayed out of the confines of his own laws and who had left behind the very lands from which he was nurtured. It was this law, then, which was stretching out to follow him – the long fingernails of Queen Victoria which she had attached to Governor William Hobson.
This was at a time when the Maori tribes were fighting fiercely among themselves. There was no peace following the wars of Hongi Hika, Te Wherowhero, Te Waharoa and Te Rauparaha. Guns and powder were the goods most desired by each tribe, when chiefly women were given away, and lands were sold. This was at a time when lands were sold on a broad scale. Europeans crowded to buy lands for themselves in the Bay of Islands, Hauraki, Porirua and the South Island, and guns, kegs of powder, blankets, tobacco and spirituous liquor were given in payment. Many claims were made by various Europeans for the one piece of land sold to each of them by various Maori chiefs. Where was the law in those times to decide what was right?
The Maori did not have any government when the European first came to these islands. There was no unified chiefly authority over man of land, or any one person to decided life or death, one who could be designated a King, a leader or some other designation. No, there was none, the people were still divided, Waikato, Ngati Haua, Te Arawa, Ngapuhi and
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tribe after tribe. Within one tribe there were many divisions into sub-tribes, each under their own chief. How could such an organisation, as a Government, be established under Maori custom? There was without doubt Maori chieftainship, but it was limited in its scope to its sub-tribe, and even to only a family group. The Maori did not have authority or a government which could make laws to govern the whole Maori Race.
These were the reasons for the direct approach by Governor Hobson to the Maori Chiefs and for arranging for copies of the Treaty to be taken from end to end of each island, seeking to obtain the concurrence of chief after chief. It has been mentioned earlier that 512 Maori Chiefs subscribed their marks or their names to the Treaty of Waitangi.
I shall explain later the meaning of the term ‘Government’ and of the words ‘Chiefly Authority,’ but let me say here that until the meaning of these words are clear, no one can consciously understand the full meaning of the Treaty of Waitangi.
Another part of the heading of the Treaty which requires our consideration is, ‘Regarding with Her Royal favour – the Native Chiefs and Tribes of New Zealand – are anxious to protect their just Rights and property and to secure to them the enjoyment of Peace and Good Order.’ These are the words which are embraced in the minds of the Maori people, ‘protect their just Rights and property.’ Let us wait until the three covenants of the Treaty are fully explained to see the full significance of this thought in the mind of Queen Victoria.
Let us conclude here the explanations of the Heading of the Treaty. It will be seen that the main purpose of the Government of Queen Victoria was for New Zealand including the European and Maori inhabitants, all men and the land to come under the authority of a specific Government.
(To be continued.)
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INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
Te Rangi Hiroa MD
Tokotoko tao, kotahi te turanga;
Tokotoko rangi, ka ngaro te kai, ka ngaro te tangata.
The spear of wood, one at a thrust; the spear from heaven, food disappears, people disappear. [cf Nga Pepeha 2541]
Huna iho ra ki roto Ruapokipoki, ki roto Tureikura,
Nga umu a Rehua.
? It is hidden within Ruapokipoki, within Tureikura,
The ovens of Rehua.
Some illnesses are like that of which Turaukawa sang: ‘The spear of wood, one at a thrust.’ These illnesses might be called individual sicknesses in that they affect a person but are not passed on to another, they are not spread. Such are rheumatism, diseases of the joints, the back, the knees, and blindness. The pains and difficulties experienced by the body are not passed on to carers or to those who come to visit the sick person, or to those who make his bed, or to those who sleep at his side. Such illnesses are taken to the doctor or the tohunga and present no problem to the people. If there are problems they afflict the body of the one who is unwell. It is mistaken of the sick person to go to the untrustworthy tohunga; if he does his mistakes will rebound upon himself. Although it is an illness confined to the sick person, we, the family and thoughtful people will still want him to go to doctors who know the right ways of treating such things in these days of enlightenment, and not to dig up the tapu and the native gods which may have been appropriate in the days of Moko and the others. Therefore we fight against the Maori tohunga. If someone insists on the objections of Potoru, it is his own body that will suffer. Besides lamenting and suffering anguish over that Maori person who has gone to the womb of the earth, people appreciate that his illness was unique to him and would not be passed on to those who remain, and those left behind say, ‘What can one do against the strong hand of Affliction?’ So much for individual illnesses.
Let us turn to some other words from this waiata, ‘The spear from heaven, food disappears, people disappear.’ The blow from this spear is different. It does not just strike one person but causes the loss of food and people. When the potato disease called the ‘Blight’ occurred, the elders were quick to say, ‘This is the spear from heaven which your ancestor Turaukawa sang about.’ When a potato was planted in the earth and it was too old, that bad quality was not passed on to another potato. It was unique to that potato. Its disease was old age,
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it was a spear of wood, an individual affliction. But the ‘Blight’ afflicts a single tuber and goes on to others; it spreads and the whole cultivation dies. This is ‘the spear from heaven’, an illness that spreads, an infectious disease. The case with people is similar. Turaukawa brought together food and people, and who is going to criticize him? Maori wisdom saw that anything that did away with both food and people was a spear from heaven. Pakeha wisdom sees that something that does away with food and people is a ‘Blight’, an infectious disease. Turaukawa can be credited with this Maori version of a ‘blight’ on food and a ‘blight ‘ on people. What is different is that Turaukawa did not see such a ‘spear from heaven’ since there was no potato or kumara ‘blight’ in his day nor were there infectious disease amongst the Maori at that time. Later the country suffered infectious disease and it was given the name ‘influenza.’ This is the illness that lays low thousands at the one time. The corpses of those who died were decorated with red feathers and laid on the earthworks of the pa to frighten off war parties attacking the pa and to make them aware that there were still plenty of men. But flu did not kill most of the people. Therefore Turaukawa was a prophet, a seer. The Pakeha were aware of the thrust of that spear from heaven and of ways of avoiding that weapon. The Agriculture Department, in its wisdom, promotes ways of combating the ‘blight’ in potatoes, flax and fruit. So chemicals are sprayed on the growing potatoes and the fruit trees. If one delays in treating the ‘blight’ it does no good; it has to be attended to first to prevent the disease. Those who take action to prevent it will see the benefit. Those who do not will find they have no food and will repeat the proverb, ‘What can one do against the strength of the spear from heaven?’ There is a very bad blight that has been seen in the Tauranga area. It is called ‘fire blight’ and the orchard fruits cannot survive it. It has been discovered that when the trees are not in fruit it lives in the Pakeha tree called the ‘hawthorn’. Consequently instructions have been given that that kind of tree should be burned in order to do away with the ‘fire blight’. There are many instructions and laws relating to crop diseases, ‘spears from heaven’ which destroy food.
There are also many ‘blights’ that attack people. Some are found in New Zealand and some in other parts of the world. ‘Blights’ that affect people are terrible ‘blights’. If potatoes are destroyed by ‘spears from heaven’ we can still buy biscuits
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and flour, but if we lose people, where can we buy them and who can buy them? The Government has a Department for food and a Department for people. The Department for people is the Department of Health. If a person has an ordinary illness the local doctor is there to deal with that illness and the sick person will get better or perhaps die. But if a person has an infectious disease it is dealt with by the Department of Health. The names of infectious diseases are listed in the Gazette. Whoever the doctor is who comes across a disease which appears in the list of infectious diseases, he must quickly report it to the Department of Health. If he does not that doctor is fined for breaking the law.
(To be continued.)
TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE TAMATEA COUNCIL
Greetings to you and to all the members of our Council. We, the people of Te Waipatu and Te Kohupatiki, have gathered together today. We want to express our gratitude to you for the good things you have done for the betterment of our area. We are especially in agreement with your arranging for a Nurse who is free to work solely with Maori. That is a very good thing. However we have passed the following motion to be considered by your Council:
‘The Hui thinks that the Tamatea Council should set up an arrangement with a Doctor to treat Maori within this area without charge if the sick person attends the Doctor’s surgery. If the Doctor goes to the home of the sick person then the sick person should pay the travelling expenses. A tax should be levied on each family as a way of paying the Doctor. The amount is to be looked into but it could possibly be two pounds per family per year. We think that a doctor would be better than a nurse, but if both could be arranged for that would be excellent.’
Peneti,
Chairman.
THE LAND COURT AND THE BOARD.
The Maori Land Court sits in Hastings on 27th April, 15th August, and 17th October this year, and on 6th February, 1923. The Board meets in Hastings on 1st May, 17th August, and 19th October this year, and on 8th February, 1923.
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THE GRADUATED TAX.
People in the district of Tamatea were called to a meeting at Omahu on the night of Friday, 2nd March. Taranaki Te Uamairangi was Chairman and Paraire Tomoana and Peneti were the Secretaries. Many matters were dealt with relating to the issue raised by A T Ngata in the February edition of Te Toa Takitini. Because of the complexity of the matter a Committee was chosen to set down an approach. The members were Hori Tupaea, Raniera Erihana and Peneti, the Minister. Most of the proposal they worked on was passed except for the final part which said, ‘that no more than one third of the lease money should be taken in tax.’ The following is the motion that was passed:
‘The graduated land tax has placed a heavy burden on some Maori land and as much as 14/10d in the pound is being taken. That tax is still going up.
When the matter was going through Parliament the Maori members mistakenly thought that the tax on Maori land would be the old tax (ordinary land tax), following the response of Mr Ward, Minister of Finance, to the questions put to him by the Maori members.
Therefore we ask that favourable consideration be given to this matter and that the tax on Maori land revert to the first tax.’
AN HONOURABLE LOUSE.
In a speech in Napier, Colonel J Leader spoke about what the soldiers did during the war. There was a ‘Tommy’ in the trenches fighting the Germans. While he was loading his gun he felt a louse biting his neck. Then he bowed his head to catch it. While his head was bowed the German's bullet slammed straight into the bag behind him. If he hadn't bowed the bullet would have hit his head. He grasped the louse and saluted it: ‘Louse, if we can find a place on you to attach a medal I’ll recommend you for it because you saved my life. But, since I can’t get you honoured, I’m returning you to the place where I caught you. Then he replaced it on his neck!’
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THE LOVE OF RANGI-NUI FOR PAPATUANUKU.
For the month of April – Paengawhāwhā to the Maori – of the year 1922. Kaipō (probably the star Deneb), ushers in this month, so be careful because rain and cold is going to occur! Store your food in the pit. Watch out for freezing wet and cold.
Here are the prospects for good and bad for these thirty days.
First Quarter 5.5.16 p.m. Fair weather until 12th day.
Full Moon 12.8.14 a.m. The weather will not be good until 19th day.
Third Quarter 19.0.24 p.m. Snow and rain until; 27th day.
Fourth Quarter 27.4.34 p.m. Good weather until 4th May.
1 Saturday (Ōuenuku – moon on 4th day) Good from morning until noon. Give orders to work.
2 Sunday (Okoro – moon on 5th day). Good from midday to sunset.
3 Monday (Tamatea Aio – moon on 6th day}. A fine Tamatea.
4 Tuesday (Tamatea whakapa – moon on 7th day) This Tamatea is good for eels.
5 Wednesday (Huna – moon on 8th [Williams 10th ] day) A bad day. Food hidden.
6 Thursday (Ariroa – moon on 9th [Te Aka 25th] day) A good day for spearing eels.
7 Friday (Maure – moon on 10th [Williams 12th] day) A good day from morning until evening.
8 Saturday (Māwharu – moon on 11th [Williams 12th or 13th] day. Catch crayfish with a net during the day and night.
9 Sunday (Ōhua – moon on 10th [Williams 14th] day) A very good day.
10 Monday (Hotu – moon on 11th [Williams 15th] day) A bad day. The sea is rough. But there are eels.
11 Tuesday (Atua – moon on 12th [Williams 15th] day) A very bad day. An unproductive day in everything.
12 Wednesday (Turu – moon on 13th [Williams 16th – full moon] day) A good day. The moon rises and the sun sets. Catch sea foods over these three days.
13 Thursday (Rākaunui – moon on 14th [Williams 17th or 18th] day. The moon is full. It is ebb tide when the sun is on the meridian.
14 Friday (Rākaumatohi – moon on 15th [Williams 18th or 19tj] day. Part of the moon is chipped away. A good day.
15 Saturday (Takirau – moon on the 16th [Williams 19th] day) Good from morning until mid-day.
16 Sunday (Oike – moon on 17th day [Williams 20th] day) Good from mid-day to sunset.
17 Monday (Kore kore hahani – moon on 18th [Williams 21st, 22nd, 23rd] day) This Korekore is a pleasant day.
18 Tuesday (Kore-kore-piri-ki-Tangaroa – moon on 19th [Williams 21st, 22nd, 23rd] day. In the middle of the night towards morning the eels are feeding.
19 Wednesday (Tangaroa-a-mua –moon on 20th [Williams 23rd) day) A good day for fishing.
20 Thursday (Tangaroa-a-roto – moon on 21st [Williams 24th] day) An excellent day for fishing with a vertical line.
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21 Friday (Tangaroa-kiokio – moon on 22nd [Williams 25th] day) An excellent day for fishing when it is foggy on land.
22 Saturday (Ōtāne – moon on 23rd [Williams 27th] day) A good day and also a night for catching eels.
23 Sunday (Ōrongonui – moon on 24th [Williams 28th] day) A good day. Look for food in the rivers.
24 Monday (Mauri – moon on 25th [Williams 29th] day) Good from morning until noon. Then it gets very dark.
25 Tuesday (Ōmutu – moon on 26th [Williams 30th] day) This is a bad day.
26 Wednesday (Mutuwhenua – moon on 27th [Williams 29th or 30th] day) A very bad day.
27 Thursday (Whiro – moon on 28th [Williams 1st] day) A bad day. The new moon rises.
28 Friday (Tirea – moon on 29th [Williams 2nd] day) A bad day. The moon is increasingly visible.
29 Saturday (Hoata – moon on 30th [Williams 3rd] day) A good day. The moon is clearly visible.
30 Sunday (Ōuenuku – moon on 1st [Williams 4th] day) A good day from morning until noon. Give orders to work.
The things to watch for are the two Tamatea as signs of the snow and cold spoken of above which arrive during this month. Be aware also of the four Tangaroa as a group this month which indicate that sea fishing will be good this month even though it is beyond the season for such activity. But be careful for many signs that come together indicating much rain this year. The signs say that there are huge storms approaching. It will not be a sunny year, rather it will relish frost and snow and rain.
For the West, Te Waipounamu and part of the East Coast, this is the month to dig up kumara and potatoes. But later plantings such as corn and pumpkins could be caught by the frosts we have spoken of above. But live in hope that we will be blessed and everything will survive.
Paraire H Tomoana
WAITANGI HUI
It is said that 1000 Maori from all parts of New Zealand gathered at Waitangi. The Prime Minister, Dr Pomare and A T Ngata attended the hui. The Prime Minister opened the hall. The key to open the house was of gold. The key and a Maori cloak were presented to the Prime Minister by Henari Te Tau MP. In the building are the names of all 2,000 young Maori who served on the field of battle.
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THE TE ARAWA LAKES.
We have received Apirana Ngata’s report of the satisfactory conclusion of Te Arawa’s case concerning its lakes. The results are as follows:
‘1. The Crown recognizes the rights of Te Arawa to their ancestral fishing grounds, and to their burial grounds at all the lakes. Te Arawa agrees that the Crown holds the title to the lakes.
2. A Board like that which manages Lake Rotoiti is to be set up to manage the shores of Rotokakahi. The island is set apart as a burial ground.
3. The free licences to fish for trout are to be increased from 20 to 40.
4. A Board is to be set up and will be given £6,000 each year to fund projects which will benefit all Te Arawa and its hapu. That money is for the benefit of the tribe and not for individuals, but the Board has authority to help appropriate projects in each hapu. The Board has the power to lend money and the interest is to be paid into the annual grant (the £6,000). The first grant will be paid at the end of the Parliamentary sitting in 1923, while the Act will be effective this year, 1922.
5. The costs to Te Arawa of bringing the case will be met by the Government to the amount of £2,000. That money will be paid over four years, £500 a year, the first payment being made after the Parliamentary sitting in 1923.’
Congratulations to the Te Arawa hapu on your determination to bring your case to a satisfactory conclusion. You are ver fortunate. A T Ngata is to be thanked for his perseverance and his perspicacity in helping Te Arawa from the beginning to the conclusion of the case. Thanks too to the learned lawyer, [Te Aara], and our friend, Mr Levien.
A SHORTAGE OF FOOD
Heuheu Poutawa says, ‘Te Wairoa is without potatoes, kumara, pumpkins, oats and other things after the storm. This was the lament of an elderly woman in past days: ‘Farewell, food, which humans depend on. You go with the travellers. Food, give yourself to me, left behind here. [E tata mama] we head inland for the food of Toi which he left behind, the edible fern roots, the support of humans and travellers.’
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THANKS FOR YOUR KINDNESS.
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OUR PAPER.
We are very grateful for you eagerness to support our treasure. When Te Toa Takitini started there were 240 people taking it. Now, over the past eight months it has risen to 500. In four months time Te Toa Takitini will have been going for a year. The managers of the paper want to raise that number to 1000. So, friends, do all you can to achieve this. It is what binds us Maori together now. Your paper is the marae on which each leader can set out their important ideas, their insights for the betterment of the remnant of the Maori People. Therefore put into practice the words of the Preacher who said, ‘Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will get it back.’ [Ecclesiastes 11.1] Remember also the name of our paper, Te Toa Takitini. Although those who produce Te Toa Takitini are doing their best, if you add your strength it will fulfill its name of Te Toa Takitini.
