[285] TE TOA TAKITINI
Registered at the GPO as a Newspaper.
Number 50, Hastings, 1st September, 1925.
HOW MANY MAORI?
Archdeacon Herbert Williams has looked into the number of Maori and how many of them are in each Diocese. He has done the same for the Pakeha.
[Thank you for making available these numbers to inform the remaining ancestors and the growing grandchildren. – Editor]
Diocese Maori Pakeha Church of England
(Pakeha)
Auckland 24,176 370,200 171,363
Waiapu 19,296 108,233 50,666
Wellington 6,891 258,385 117,641
Nelson 607 72,258 33,545
Christchurch 1,007 208,240 92,395
Dunedin 471 198,524 45,981
TO THE YOUNG WHO BREAK CALABASHES.
Here’s a notice for you. The Advisory Board is meeting in Wellington to choose one of your rugby teams to go to France. There is only one snag: ‘A bird needs feathers to fly.’ [cf Nga Pepeha 1768] Your elders are doing something about that.
NGATI POROU HOSTS A MAJOR HUI.
The major hui in the country next year will be held at Tikitiki, Waiapu. The first object is to open the church that has been built as a memorial to the Ngati Porou soldiers who fell on the field of battle.
The second business will be a meeting of the young people of the Te Aute Association and their supporters in the important work they are doing in various tribes.
Published by the Rev F A Bennett and printed at Cliff Press, Queen Street, Hastings, HB.
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Te Toa Takitini
Registered at the GPO as a Newspaper.
The Price of the Paper is 10/- a year.
Address Letters to ‘Te Toa Takitini,’ Box 300, Hastings’
Te Toa Takitini, 1st September, 1925.
THE AMERICAN FLEET.
A T Ngata, MA, MP.
On the morning when the American warships set sail, they turned aside to Wellington where the commander of the fleet, Admiral [Kunehe], gave a farewell speech:
‘We are very sad to be leaving. Although we’ve only been here a short time, just two weeks, we have fallen deeply in love with you and with your land….. The important part was meeting this people, talking together, meeting heart to heart, exchanging word about matters of concern here and beyond. We ascended peaks from which we have gotten a wider vision….. Twenty-two thousand of my party turned aside and were welcomed by you. These thousands will return and talk about what they have seen and spoken of. We will be preachers about New Zealand in other parts of the world.’
Many speeches and greetings were delivered by the officers of the warships on the marae they visited on the two islands, but the important words are those above.
Those in the schools know about the migration of the English when they settled the east coast of America before Captain Cook came to these islands. A kind of England grew in America. At that time, when Captain Cook was in England, war broke out. It came about because of the ignorance of the Government in England of the thinking of their descendants living in America. They demanded that they paid taxes, even though America had no representatives in Parliament in England. England was defeated in this war and America became an independent country, They set up their own government, made their own laws, and did things for their own benefit. This laid down a pattern for the English colonies that were settled later, in that, when they were sufficiently capable, each colony was given power to set up its own government, to make laws, to do things appropriate to their independent status, to tax their property, as determined by their representatives in their own Parliament. That happened when many English settled in
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in Australia and New Zealand. The pattern was clear, so that we have our own Parliament which makes laws for the peoples of these islands.
From these beginnings, America developed into a great nation, a wealthy nation, a powerful nation in the world. But its origins are in England, their language is the same, Their laws, their ideas, their way of life, their way of doing things all stem from their migration from England. However, they abandoned things from there that they disagreed with.
Now, America is a huge country and it was a new country at the time it was settled by the English. Other peoples from Europe – from Germany, Italy, Russia – overflowed there, pale-skinned people from all the world seeking freedom. They trickled away from severe laws and oppressive rulers. Some were younger sons of leading families in which the inheritance went to the eldest son while they were flung out into the world to make their own living. Some were enticed by accounts of the new country, of the land with its original forests and a wealth of minerals in the bowels of the earth. The young men of every nation were zealous, their hearts were eager, to repeat what their forebears had done on this virgin soil. People who fought against the oppressive laws of their homelands, people who were tired of the disgusting practices of their kings and nobility – these were the ones who settled America. Now, the blood of those many people became mixed, they mingled one with another, but the flow of that blood was from England. An exception were the black people from Africa who were brought as slaves to America to work in the swamps in the hot places where white people would not work. This article is about a different part. When America separated from England there were three million Americans; this number has increased now to one hundred and fifteen million!
The visiting fleet comes from those one hundred and ten million [sic], and these twenty-two thousand will return to tell them about Australia and New Zealand, about the descendants of those who likewise migrated from England.
The smoke of the guns of the recent great war had hardly dispersed, and the peoples were only just at peace, when the soothsayers were saying that the great wars of the coming generation would be fought in this ocean, Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. The German warships are taken and the Russians are weak, and that leaves on the face of these waters the English, the Americans and the Japanese. These three dominate the shores of the Pacific Ocean – the Japanese and their dependants, the Americans, and the islands under English rule. Will the time not come when they will be in contention? Water seeks low places,
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valleys into which to flow; the tree is split as it seeks to reproduce according to the pattern in its seed. And will not the peoples in crowded places in the world long for the spacious places in the world to live in? Those people living in crowded places are looking at Australia, New Zealand and other islands in the Pacific, along with large areas of America, that are still unsettled. Now, the ocean is a highway for populous nations to cross to fulfil their many hopes.
There are experts amongst various peoples who are looking into such schemes. There are those perhaps sitting in on discussions and saying to each other: ‘We have the situation of the world much in our thoughts and are uneasy about the coming days. Your brothers and sisters, infants and very young ones, are apprehensive there in the southern ocean. Go, search them out, and will they not recognise their brothers and know that we are one family?’
Without doubt, observing this is the main reason for the coming of this awesome fleet to this part of the world. It is certainly the case that a major reason for the visit is to familiarize the sailors with it, and to test the officers’ confidence in sailing in convoy in these waters, as well as testing the weapons of sea battles.
But a very important purpose is the furthering the closeness of those who derived from the same English heritage, and bringing together their thinking even though they have separate governments. It is said that if all the peoples who speak the English language came together then the world would be at peace.
We are not able give an account here of the appearance of those warships, of the welcomes they received, or of their gratitude, but these can be found in the Pakeha newspapers.
THE TREATY OF WAITANGI.
(Part II)
Looking Forward
By R[eweti] T K[ohere]
(Part I of this article is in Number 49.)
‘Here’s a question. In 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was signed and we Maori became entangled in Pakeha ways. In these 84 years, what has been our standing amongst the Pakeha people?’
‘Second: This is the year 1924; 84 years on, what will be our standing as Maori among the Pakeha?’
- Herepete Rapihana.
May, 1924.’
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Koro, Herepete, I have answered the first part of your question. My answer was not a full one since it is clear how Maori have been since the Treaty of Waitangi to the present day, and what I said dealt only with the things Maori have suffered and not with the good things that have resulted from our participation in Pakeha ways – and these are many. I have not spoken much about the faith perspectiuve which is not a fruit of the Treaty of Waitangi but it is the most wonderful benefit that the Maori have received. The Gospel brought an end to the bloody wars between Maori tribes and hapu; it stopped cannibalism; we live in peace; we sleep soundly. As Te Whakatihi said:
‘E whakapono e au e Ihu Karaiti, na konei hoki e au e moe noa e te paenga o taku maara e Te Pirahirahi.’ [sic]
? ‘I trust in Jesus Christ and therefore I can sleep without worry beside my
garden, Te Pirahirahi.’
Through the faith, Maori entered a new world: they passed from darkness to light.
One benefit that the Pakeha have given Maori is education – a great treasure. Through education, learning English, being able to read books and Pakeha newspapers, a great light has shone upon Maori. His thoughts have been broadened and, in his eyes, the world has become smaller. The ignorant person, the one who has not been educated, is unable to see things clearly with his eyes. He is still blind. The most valuable thing about education is not being able to get a job in order to make money. Those who are most eager to pile up money are not the well-educated – the greatest value of learning is that it leads a person from darkness to light. The sign of a person’s nobility is his learning, not money. No matter how much money a person has, if he is ignorant he will not enter into the company of chiefs. The Treaty of Waitangi made it possible for our children to be educated without charge. The problem has been that Maori are sluggish when it comes to taking up education and ascending to the lofty positions of the Pakeha. Very few of our children are attending the colleges, unlike the Pakeha. It is the colleges that will produce great people for us Maori – bishops and archdeacons; headteachers for Te Aute, Hukarere, St Stephen’s, Turakina, Queen Victoria, and Waerenga-a-hika; judges, lawyers, doctors, government officials, and so on. The situation of Maori is like that of those people of Gibeon whom Israel made into hewers of wood and drawers of water, that is, slaves. [Joshua 9.21]
[The following sentences are difficult to decipher. – Barry Olsen.]
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I am not enamoured of all Pakeha practices, and I am not saying that it would be good for Maori to become like the Pakeha. The Pakeha way of life is burdensome; the Pakeha have turned people into machines that turn day and night without rest. There are many aspects of Maori life that it would not be right to lose, and there are also many things that are bad and which should be discarded. There are many good things that the Pakeha does but there are also many bad things. We Maori are a loving and kind people while the Pakeha are of a different make-up. The Pakeha’s main concern is money; everything is laid out according to cost. The best Maori, the true person, is the one who gathers together the best of things Maori and the best of things Pakeha.
One of the good things that Maori have gained under the Treaty of Waitangi is the right to vote and to enter the two Houses of Parliament. Four Maori are in the Lower House and two in the Upper House. Today one of the Ministers of the Crown, Maui Pomare, is Maori, and he has also been honoured with a knighthood. Today the Maori members are highly respected on both sides of the House and the Government dares not under-rate them. The stature of the Maori members has led Mr Coates to retain the role of Minister of Maori Affairs for himself. Many of the world’s indigenous people have not obtained the right to vote. Because we are sheltered under the rule of England we have not been conquered or enslaved by other powerful nations, and we live in peace. This is a wonderful benefit. This is the most important fruit of the Treaty of Waitangi for the Maori People.
Looking Forwards.
Herepete asks what Maori will be like over the next 84 years. It is difficult to answer this question because looking into the distant future, to the days before us, we don’t know what they hold, without being prophets. All that we can know are the things that we have encountered or the things we now observe.
What will we be like over the coming eighty-four years? One thing is clear to me: we will not be able to avoid the loss of the Maori language. The young people are speaking a bastardized form of the language of their ancestors; they are seeking to make it conform to the English language. The Maori language is not being taught in the schools, nor is it being taught by parents. Some parents believe it is not good to teach their children the Maori language. The child of an educated Maori competed for a McLean Scholarship. He is a bright child and would have got the money had he known the Maori language. Because he did not know the language of his parents he had 200 marks deducted. Besides not being taught the Maori language,
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they are going to the Pakeha schools and not to Te Aute. Te Aute is now one of the best schools in New Zealand. Look at Apirana Ngata; he is sending his children to Te Aute, the school where he himself was educated. Are there not some people who want their children to be even greater than Apirana?
Something that we cannot avert is the merging of Maori with Pakeha. The people who are hastening this are those who are not teaching their children the Maori language and are sending them to Pakeha colleges. These are also the children who will look down on Maori. Let me say that here, many of the educated girls of this district are looking for Maori husbands for themselves, very few are looking for Pakeha.
But Herepete wants to know what the situation of Maori will be. Will they be the leaders or will they be the servants? Will they be wealthy or will they be acquiescent in the world? I don’t believe Maori will become the leaders; most of them are labourers and servants to the Pakeha. The time will come when there will be so many Pakeha, we will be crowded together, jostling one another, and Maori will be engulfed by Pakeha. Most Maori now are working for the Pakeha, they are buttering up the Pakeha, they are like dogs waving their tails beside their masters. Maori will be like this because they have no land. Only those hapu that hold on to their land won’t be servants to the Pakeha. The proper way of life for Maori, working their land, will be at an end. If they don’t [work their own land] then they will be servants. Maori lawyers, doctors, and shopkeepers will not be supported by Pakeha nor by some Maori. It is true that some Maori have attained these coveted Pakeha positions, but they are few, and they are the gifted ones. Pakeha do not want Maori to take these important positions. In 1814 the faith arrived on these islands but it was many years before the first Maori Canon was appointed. It was not that there were not suitable people during those years but it was just not considered and Maori did not want to take such exalted positions. What good are Maori schools if there are very few Maori considered as good enough to teach? When will a Maori be appointed as a judge for the Maori Land Court? Some Maori are superior to some of the Pakeha who have been appointed as judges, and when will Maori offices be available only to Maori?
It is clear, Koro, Herepete, that my vision for the future of Maori over the many years to come is not a pleasant one but rather a cause for anxiety. This is because although crowds of Maori have entered the faith and are enlightened, some hapu and tribes are living in the old world; they have been carried away by many teachings, by the proliferation of churches, and by many tohunga. The main result of all these things is that people are burdened and sad and confused.
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The Pakeha will not have long to wait for a confused and dilatory and stupid people. These are the days of the Pakeha, so seize the Pakeha learning. Don’t waste time and money on drinking alcoh0l, on getting drunk, and on following tohunga. Follow the guidance of the true faith to deflect the flaming darts of the devil, so that we will grow into a strong people in the world and prove wrong my prediction that most Maori will end up serving the Pakeha. The saying is true that ‘righteousness exalts a nation.’ [Proverbs 14.34]
Perhaps, Koro, Herepete, this answers your question. May God fold the Maori People in his arms and bless them.
[The End]
THE NEW BIBLES.
Miss Williams, Hukarere, Napier, has received the new Bibles. The prices are: Bound Edition 8/-, Soft Cover 5/-.
THE TREATY OF WAITANGI
T Wi Repa.
This has become a wearisome subject for us Maori. It has become the creed of a ‘church’ amongst us. When I was a boy at Te Aute I heard this matter being discussed. Heretaunga was where it was promoted. Its ‘parliament’ was at Te Waipatu. Henare Tomoana and his fellow Heretaunga chiefs brought this treasure from Ngapuhi. Mohi Te Atahikoia and Ihaia Hutana are the surviving members of that group. Sirs, greetings to the two of you, the remaining elders, the spokesmen of the tribe in those days, those left behind by your elder brothers. Greetings also to your children and grandchildren in the new world, living there in Heretaunga.
Let me return to the subject of this article, the Treaty of Waitangi. Many people of this area know about it but do not know the significance of those three clauses, they do not know what the Treaty of Waitangi is about.
It is not for me to explain that Treaty; I’m not capable of that. It can’t be done except by a lawyer and not every lawyer can do it.
This word ‘Tiriti’ is a Maori version of the English word ‘Treaty.’ We hear of the Treaty of Versailles, the agreement that brought an end to the recent Great World War. There have been others before – the ‘Treaty of Berlin,’ the ‘Treaty of Utrecht,’ and other places. The significance of that word ‘Treaty’ is that it is an agreement to improve relations between different peoples. When their fighting comes to an end they go to an independent place to ‘treat.’
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When they finish and have agreed, they set down what they have agreed to on sheepskin (parchment). This is called the Covenant of the Treaty, or ‘Treaty’ for short.
This Treaty is protected under part of the world’s law called ‘International Law.’ This decrees how things are to be done, and suchlike, between nations with their different constitutions and different rulers, as is the case with the English and the French, the English and the Italians, the English and the Americans, and the English and the Germans. This area of the law is not familiar to all lawyers. There is a select group of lawyers called experts in these laws – known in English as ‘An authority on International Law.’ If problems arise between two of the great powers of the world, the cases are not dealt with by lawyers who deal with drunkenness or debt but by experts in that department of the law. If the Prime Minister or the Minister for External Affairs (Secretary for Foreign Affairs) goes to draw up a Treaty with another nation, he takes with him experts in the area of the law to advise him. There are no difficult words in the Treaty. However, although it is easy to read and an ignorant person can see all the words clearly, the experts in ‘International Law’ can appreciate every aspect of it – the difficulties and what is straightforward. There are not only experts on the English side, there are experts also on the other side. Therefore, insights are exchanged. Let us be clear; the Kings, the Prime Ministers, the Presidents of the great nations do not do anything at random such as calling on the services of those who are uneducated, but rather they call on on those who have been carefully taught that aspect of the law, to guide them.
But let us return to the Treaty of Waitangi. I am an expert in the ailments of people’s bodies. I have not given over my life and my mind to learning our country’s laws. But I know the Maori language and English, French, Latin and a little bit of Greek. But although I have this knowledge, I can truly say that I am not capable. of explaining the clauses of the Treaty of Waitangi to an ignorant Maori. I do know that the full explanations are to be found in the ‘International Law’ books in the country’s law library to which only the experts have access.
It is the case that most of our country’s lawyers do not practise in these parts of the law. The reason why they are not involved with this is that our land is not in the business of making treaties with the great powers of the world. It is our ‘Mother Country,’ England, that signs those treaties.
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When the Treaty of Versailles, the agreement which concluded the recent Great War, was signed, for the first time the Prime Ministers of the Empire actually signed. Our Prime Minister, Mr Massey, who died recently, was a signatory.
The Treaty of Waitangi happened, too, an agreement between the Queen of England and the Maori People. The New Zealand lawyers knew neither International Law nor how Maori did things.
But I believe that there is only one expert here in New Zealand who can explain to us
that Treaty of Waitangi. He was carefully trained in the law. He understands both sides – the International Law and the Maori side. For another thing, since he was small he has taken part in Maori Hui concerning the Treaty of Waitangi. He has queried the thinking of Mr Stout and others, of Mr Cooper and others, and other well-known lawyers on this matter. He is now a Member of Parliament. In that House that Treaty is discussed every year. That expert is Apirana Turupa Ngata, MA, LLB.
His explanations of that Treaty in the ‘Toa’ have been very clear to me. My mind cannot comprehend those parts of the Treaty outside those explanations with which a certain ‘bush lawyer’ is seeking to blind us and to use as the basis for his new Church. If someone talks to me about the diseases of the body then in that area my expertise is greater than that of Apirana. However, when it comes to the Treaty, my lads, that is the mother’s milk on which that man was fed. It happened that that seed was also planted in a fertile mind.
The purpose of this article is to point out how little I and a certain group understand the Treaty of Waitangi. Nor will we be tiresome. What I am drawing attention to is that the people who speak about the Treaty are like those of whom the Pakeha says: “The horse they backed was left behind. And at the end of the race they went to the window expecting to be paid a ‘divvy.’”
THE AREA HUI OF THE HAWKES BAY ARCHDEACONRY.
The Area Hui of the Parishes of Hawkes Bay was held at Moteo on 30th – 31st August, 1925. The following members attended:
President: The Bishop of Waiapu.
Archdeacon: W J Simkin.
Ministers: Waipatu, F A Bennett (Superintendent); Mohaka and Te Wairoa, Hemi Huata; Moteo, Peni Hakiwai.
Lay Representatives: Moteo: Porokuru Mapu, Omahu: Bob Tutaki, Waiohiki: Kurupo Tareha, Westshore and Miani: J Karaitiana, Wharerangi: Nirai Aporo, Waipawa: Hemi Rapaea, Porangahau: Hare R Edwards, Waipatu: P H Tomoana, Kohupatiki: Te Hore Chadwick, Te Hauke: Hori Tupaea, Waimarama: Kato Nepe, Dannevirke: Reihana Karaha, Wairoa: Rewi Tamihana, Rangiahua: Peni Hema, Mohaka: Awhi Te Kahu, Waihua: Neri Hokena.
The following said that they were sorry that they were not free to come: Takapau: A Maaka, Dannevirke: Dr Tatere, Waimarama: Ture Kirihi, Te Pakipaki: Hurikino.
The Bishop opened the Hui with prayer, after which he gave his address. (His speech will be printed in the next edition of the paper.)
Motions Dealt With by the Hui.
1. Moved by Hori Tupaea, seconded by Hemi Huata: ‘The appropriate time has come for us, the Maori Church, to find ways of increasing the annual stipends of our ministers.
The Bishop responded that this motion cannot be dealt with at this time but should be left until a Bishop is appointed for the Maori Church; then it can be dealt with. But the motion is right.
2. Moved by Awhi Te Kahu and seconded by Neri Hokena: ‘That the Area Hui be held next year at Mohaka.’
The Bishop explained that it will be left to the new Maori Bishop to arrange this.
3. Moved by Rev Hakiwai and seconded by P H Tomoana: ‘That this Hui thanks the Bishop for his excellent speech and that it be printed in Te Toa Takitini and that the printed edition be also sent to Te Iwi Maori.’ Agreed.
4. Repanga asked: ‘Will the building of the church at Tangoio go ahead this year?’
Archdeacon Simkin explained the difficulties. If a way is found to augment the remaining fund, the building will be erected rapidly. The cost is 1,200. The money available is £750. The Bishop explained that that amount is insufficient to complete the building and Repanga and his people must make every effort to collect more. The state of the building is as it was at the beginning and it needs to be completed as some of the parts, the windows and doors and the roof timbers, are ready. It has been left to the Maori to arrange the transport of the bricks and other materials from Napier to Tangoio.
5. Questions and the Bishop’s answers:
a( a) Will it be possible to implement gradually the suggestions made by the Hui held at Rotorua on 23rd – 24th June, and postpone until the beginning of January the authorisation of those arrangements? P H Tomoana.
b( b) Could there be discussions about the free entrance of Hawkes Bay children into Te Aute and Hukarere? P H Tomoana.
c(c) Is it permitted to enter the name of the Angels into the occasional prayers? Rev Huata.
d(d) May people who have not been confirmed be lay-representatives? P Mapu.
e(e) As to burying those dead who have joined the Ratana Church: May ministers bury those who while they were still alive asked to be buried by this Church and have repented? P H Tomoana.
(f) e) May ministers bury children who were baptised by the Church and subsequently joined the Ratana Church? J K Rapaea.
f(g) Is Rev Huata permitted to cross the boundaries into the parish of Te Wairoa since Rev Manaro has excluded him? Rewi Tamihana.
(f)f) Can the Bishop visit Rangiahua when he comes to Te Wairoa? Peene.
(i) g) Is there a fund of money from which Maori Parishes can borrow money for the building of churches, clergy houses or mission houses? I ask this because the people of the Church in Porangahau wish to build a stone church for ourselves as the old church is in a bad state of dilapidation and it is difficult to find all the money now, but if the Church was able to give us a pound for every pound we raised then it would ease matters for our side. H R Erueti.
(kk) What are we to do with Ratana dead when there is a burial ground at the church? May they be buried in that graveyard? Rev Hakiwai.
[The original text of the following paragraph is very faint and indecipherable in parts. – Barry Olsen]
The Bishop welcomed the questions, and expressed his love and also his sadness at the emergence of these troubles amongst the people that had led some to break with the Church and follow the teachings of the Ratana Church. He urged people to be faithful to the Mother Faith, beginning with Christ, given to his Angels as the basis of the Christian Faith we have today. It was so until the day they were troubled and they have left the Church to go to another place. Hence his lament and his heartfelt sadness and the pity that the questions evoke. The teachings of the Church have been
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addressed and agreed by gatherings, including the Hui held at Rotorua which arrived at the words of guidance printed in Te Toa Takitini. Those things were drawn up by the group charged with looking into the matters that were challenging Christian teachings. All the explanations are in the sermon.
The Answers to the Questions.
(a a) This arrangement was made by the Select Group and not by an individual. It is not possible to say. Were they cast out? No, but they did go beyond the teachings of the Church. But it is painful and the heart grieves for them, and when the time comes when they see that it was wrong of them to leave and they think about returning, then a Christian heart will permit this if they repent. Many of those people have left without understanding what they were signing, so make every effort to make this clear and when they understand we shall be able to live together. They have not been excluded from attending services. It will be good if they come. But they cannot lead prayers.
(b b) Yes, this is a subject that we must give serious consideration. So set down a motion so that the Hui can discuss it.
(c c) There is a collect in our Prayer Book for the feast of ‘Michael and All Angels.’ It is a very good prayer for us to use.
( d) Confirmation into the Church is the widespread practice, therefore, anyone wishing to stand with those following the Church’s ways should be confirmed.
(e e) The ministers are authorised to bury the dead, but there are burial services for use in different circumstances. Everything is straightforward if the sick person has repented before his death and has repented first of belonging to both faiths. I have services that are suitable for use with a person or group whose wish is to return to the Church. As for those who have left the Church, let them first become familiar with all the teachings contained in the service by which they will be readmitted then they may be admitted.
(f) Yes, they have the authority. In these circumstances the sins of the parents are not to be visited upon the children.
(g f) Yes, this is permitted. But he goes to help the vigorous growth of the Church.
( g) Leave this matter until the appropriate time because this week a meeting is being held in Auckland to decide upon the procedures
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for appointing a Bishop for the Maori People, and he will be responsible for what he does. But should it happen that I find myself still responsible for visiting those districts, I will make every effort to go and see the people of Rangahua.
(k h) Those are burial grounds for everyone and people may be buried with the appropriate rites.
6. P H Tomoana moved, seconded by Rev Hakiwai: ‘That Hawkes Bay children be permitted to attend Te Aute and Hukarere free of charge.’
Seconded by Rev F A Bennett andHori Tupaea explained that, although it it not clear what those who gave the land had in mind for Te Aute school, Te Hapuku spoke of the boundaries being at Patangata and Te Hauke, so this man’s descendants may qualify to benefit from what is proposed in the motion.
The Bishop explained that part of this motion had been agreed by the Trustees of the school and we should wait while they give further careful consideration to the matter.
7. Moved by P H Tomoana: ‘That this Hui thanks the General Synod for its important consideration for the Maori Church, and this Hui agrees totally with the project to appoint a separate Maori Bishop as head of the Maori Mission.’ Seconded by Rev F A Bennett and passed by acclamation.
8. Moved by Bennett and Hare R Erueti: ‘This Hui of the Church people living in Hawkes Bay wishes to point out to their Pakeha Christian friends that as yet they do not have the right to vote on the liquor issue. And we ask our friends, when they are voting to remember that they have the power to decide this matter for Maori as well as for Pakeha.
9. Moved by Bennett and Hemi Rapaea: ‘That this Hui sends greetings to Te Katene Pukerua, confined to bed by his illness, and assures him of our love for him at his time and of our prayers that the blessing of God may rest upon him in his weakness.
10. Moved by Bennett and Hemi Huata: ‘This Hui asks the Bishop to agree to having his Sunday morning sermon about the Ratana Church printed to inform the Maori Church about this matter. Agreed.
11. Moved by Hemi Rapaea and Bennett: ‘That this Hui thanks the Diocesan Office for renewing the Register of Membership of the Church of England and asks if it is possible: (1) To have two copies of the registration document – one for the person signing and one for the minister. (2) That the witnesses of the signing be a minister, a lay reader, or a person who has been confirmed.’
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The Bishop responded: ‘This kind of Register was formerly in use. Leave it to me to take this request to the meeting of Bishops in Auckland this week.’12. A question: What is the position where churches are built on land that has not been gifted to the Church, now that the Ratana Church is contending that it has the right to those churches?
The Bishop asked Bennett to answer. This was his response. Both Pakeha law and Maori law are clear about this matter. The Maori Land Act Amendment Act of 1921, Section 5, gives power to the Maori Land Court to adjudicate as to who has the right of possession of churches, Church houses, meeting houses, dining halls and other tribal buildings. This applies only to the buildings if that is what is required but can also apply to the land if that is desired. The churches built for the Church of England specifically are known and therefore there is no problem with this section of the law. In places where there are problems for you as Church people you can ask the Maori Land Court to investigate the difficulties between you. (See Section 5, Native Land Amendment and Native Land Claims Adjustment Act, 1921.)
13. Moved by Hemi Rapaea and Bennett: ‘That the Maori Church in the Hawkes Bay Archdeaconry make very effort to raise our part (£33.6.8) of the one hundred pounds a year to help with the work of spreading the Gospel of out Lord to the peoples of India.’ Passed
14. Moved by Bennett and Hemi Huata: ‘That the President sends our love and our greetings to Bishop Azariah and his family and his fellow-workers in that part of our Lord’s vineyard, and tells him that we do not forget him.’ Passed,
15. Moved by Rev Huata and seconded by H K Rapaea: ‘This Hui thanks the remnant of Moteo for their generous and excellent hospitality to the hui.’ Passed.
The Bishop expressed his gratitude to the Hui: ‘I have been Bishop of Waiapu for eleven years and at last I have experienced an area Hui of the Maori Church in which all have been of the same mind, where there has been understanding and where people are determined to take in hand important projects and to raise people’s spirits. May the Holy Spirit bless and guide you and your people in the coming days. I am expressing my great affection for you, especially as in the near future you will no longer be under my authority but under that of your new Bishop. I will still love you.’
[Thank you, remnant of Moteo for your wonderful hospitality to our Hui. There is nothing further to be said following the Bishop’s comment that this has been the best Hui of the Maori Church in eleven years. Adorn yourselves with feathers for the coming years. Thank you all for the excellence of your hospitality to the Hui. – Editor]
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THE WELCOMES GIVEN BY TE ARAWA TO DISTINGUISHED VISITORS.
A T Ngata, MA, MP.
Without doubt, the marae of Te Arawa are now anointed as the marae on which to welcome distinguished visitors from abroad. Whether it be a King’s party, a Prince’s party, a group of experts, a Government, warriors from the wars or officers of a fleet of warships from distant lands, Te Arawa prepares its marae and the visitor from afar experience the noble hospitality of the Maori People. Sometimes they are helped by other of the country’s tribes, sometimes they have stood by themselves; there are times when they alone stand on their own marae, trampling, speaking, grimacing. When the groups leave, their salutations to Te Arawa are for all Maori People – other canoes share the good name.
Two large parties have been welcomed by Te Arawa to Papaiouru at Ohinemutu during the past month, the party of Officers from the American fleet and the group of proprietors of the Empire’s leading newspapers. The leaves of the poi in the hands of the beautiful women, the ceremonial haka, the dancing to songs, the language of our ancestors – all of these represent all Maori. While Te Arawa are doing these things, all of us are participating. The thanks accorded to Te Arawa pass on to us. So we must be tremendously grateful to our kin.
Te Arawa have their beautiful lakes and hot springs. After travelling for seven hours from Auckland the train arrives at Rotorua and there are the lakes, the geysers are roaring, and Te Arawa are standing on their marae. But the journalist from the American newspaper who has come with the fleet will remind the Pakeha of Auckland that close by them are the most remarkable things in these islands, famed throughout the world – the hot springs, the lakes, and the Maori People, different from all other indigenous peoples of the world. Consequently, the Pakeha people will look afresh at this place, Rotorua, because of the words of that American about how the people of Rotorua live well with the ancient people to whom the land belongs.
Sir, Taupopoki, best wishes to you, your children and your grandchildren. You are the ones who have made us great in the eyes of the people of the world. The hospitality you have shown will bear fruit. What has the Pakeha way of welcoming achieved? But yours is very warm, and it follows that it is carried away on his terrifying warships, and in days to come will remain deep in the heart and will be affectionately remembered down the years. The Americans are ruling our relatives in Hawaii and Samoa. The group of newspapers there are making known to the world the nobility of the Maori People even though it is you alone who are responsible for that side of things – the wonder of the flashing of the poi although it is only your grandchildren who are spinning them, the awesomeness of the haka even though it is your children alone who are performing it. That’s great! Our close Pakeha friends here are realizing that Maori are being appreciated abroad.
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