Te Pipiwharauroa 26

Te Pipiwharauroa 26

No 26

1900/04/01

(Maori Version at NZETC)

[1]  Te Pipiwharauroa, He Kupu Whakamarama.

[2] Te Pipiwharauroa, He Kupu Whakamarama, Number 26, Gisborne, April 1900

THE EPIDEMIC

The epidemic which struck the peoples of the west coast of India has hit Port Jackson. Thousands of Indians have died. The main cities hit by the plague are Bombay and Poona. In three years 70,000 people of Bombay died, most were natives, a few were European. Last year the plague arrived on New Caledonia, and in February it arrived at Port Jackson. When will it cross to New Zealand? It is a very terrible disease. People die very quickly. Few recover once they have contracted it. It begins like a fever, but before long the neck or perhaps the armpits develop swellings. The doctors are still searching for a medicine with which to treat this beastly disease. The medicine discovered by a Jewish doctor is injected into the shoulders of the patient, like the injection given to prevent the spotting illness, Smallpox. Some doctors have died in the course of searching for a vaccine for this illness which is called ‘bubonic’.

The things that spread this disease are rats and the important thing is to kill them. If you see rats lying dead in a heap it will not be long before people are afflicted. They are killing rats in towns now; some towns in Australia are paying two pence a rat; in New Zealand, one penny.

They are sweeping the filthy places in towns because these provide a fertile ground for breeding this thing. Some houses are being burned. Our Government is being very careful lest the disease arrive in New Zealand. Ships from Port Jackson are kept at anchor for a whole ten days before the passengers are permitted to land. The disease has reached Honolulu and San Francisco. Should it reach New Zealand the Maori people are particularly threatened by this terrible disease. Dirt is the favoured haven for this dreadful disease, so it is important that we ensure that our villages, our houses and our bodies are clean. We the Maori have a saying: 

E tawhiti ano te hoariri, e hanga ana te pa.
‘Build the fortress while the enemy is far away.’

In the year 1665 a terrible plagues struck England, encouraged by the filth of the streets, the mud and the closeness of the houses. London was the city worst affected by that scourge. During July 1100 people died every week. In September there were 10,000. By the end of the year 100,000 people had died. It was not possible to make coffins for all the dead, instead they were heaped up in huge pits. Every night were heard the voices of those who carried the dead in carts, ringing their bells and calling out, ‘Bring out your dead! Bring out your dead!’ The houses where there was a dead person were marked with a red cross and these words, ‘Lord, have mercy upon us.’ That plague was called ‘The Black Death’.

In the year 1666, the year immediately after that plague, London was ablaze. A terrible fire burned almost half the city. It burned for three days. 400 streets were destroyed, 13,000 houses were burned, and 8 people died. This was a tragedy but it helped London overcome the plague. New houses replaced those destroyed by the fire. The streets were broadened. Up to the present London has not suffered again from plague. It has been the same for Port Jackson; it has been the slums of the town that have been it by the new epidemic. Therefore, my friends, we are anxious lest the disease cross to New Zealand and we Maori are exterminated by this nightmare demon. Clean our villages and houses, and if the plague comes here then flee to the deserts and the mountains to live.

On 21st of this month some rats on the wharf at Auckland were found dead of the plague. No people have been infected.

[3] 

 BLOOD AND WATER

‘One of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear and out came blood and water.’ John 19.34.

This year Good Friday falls on 13th April. This is the most important day observed by the catholic Church, the death of Christ on the cross for the sins of the whole world. Good Friday! Some people like to stop work that day, and on the following Monday there are festivities – horse racing and other attractions to dominate people’s thoughts lest they turn to the greatest concern of this world, the death of the only Son of God. It is coming up to two thousand years since the death of Christ. Because the story of his death is so old the ears are hardened as if it were a fable, the heart is not awakened, and tomorrow a new disease will have afflicted the world – hardness of heart. But this disease is also an ancient one, going back to the time of Paul, who said of some people from his land, ‘They have no sensitivity but give themselves over to violent desires and are carried away to practise impurity’ (Eph. 4.19). Some people are led by the power of the devil to mistakenly believe that they are not responsible for their wrongdoings. The story of the death and the love of Christ is an ancient one, but if the heart is awakened it is a new story for all times, a most wonderful story.

‘Tell me the old, old story

Of unseen things above,

Of Jesus and his glory,

Of Jesus and his love.

Tell me the story simply

As to a little child,

For I am weak and weary,

And helpless and defiled.’

It is of this old story that I want to remind you, the readers of Te Pipiwharauroa.

Listen, friend! You have fed your natural heart with stories of fighting and other stories from the Maori world. Don’t feed your spiritual side, your chiefly side, with dried bread, or it will be starved by your fleshly side.

Blood and water. The Bible is clear that Christ gave up his spirit and that it was only his body that hung on the cross. There are some wise doctors who say that Christ died of sadness, his heart was broken. The doctors have observed that if a person dies of intense sorrow or of joy then his heart is ruptured and if his chest is pierced, blood and water come out. A Greek elder died because of his great joy at the victory of his son in athletics, something highly esteemed by the ancient Greeks. The winner was not rewarded with money as is the case in games today but was crowned with olive [sic] leaves. The olive leaves were more esteemed by the Greeks than money.

If the doctors are right in saying that Christ died of sorrow, this is the most pitiful thing, and surely people's hearts are touched by it. See Psalm 69, verses 20 and 21. ‘My heart is crushed with insults and I am deep in sorrow. I looked for someone to pity me and found no-one, for someone to comfort me and saw no-one. They gave me gall to drink; in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.’ This psalm is a prophecy of the suffering of the Messiah and it supports the idea of the doctors that the cause of Christ’s death was a broken heart, the result of the sorrow which weighed on his heart. These words, ‘My heart is crushed’, are in English, ‘My heart is broken’, that is, ‘My heart is smashed’. Is this not a prophecy of the breaking of the heart of the Messiah on the cross, when blood and water came out? We know of his terrible anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane when his sweat flowed, ‘like clots of blood dripping to the ground.’ [Luke 22.44] He saw his cross and the sins of the world being cast upon him and his sinless spirit was stirred. While he was hanging on the cross at Calvary, the face of his Father turned away from him, defiled as he was with the sins of the world. It was then that he said in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’[Psalm 22.1]

Friend, the Christ had fulfilled what he had to do; the things needed to accomplish the salvation of humanity were completed. His blood was shed in fulfilment of the law of Jehovah: ‘Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins.’ (Hebrews 9.22) He has completed his side of things: what remains is your side. Have you set your heart on Christ as your Saviour? Do you believe that the shedding of his blood has done away with your sins? [4] You have heard of his patience, of his suffering, of his death for you: what are you doing for him? Set about working for him; give your final days to him; set your hand to doing his will before you go the way of your elders and ancestors. He will strengthen you. He will renew your heart by his Spirit. If you turn to him now his heart rejoices greatly, the angels of heaven sing, and Hell sheds tears. ‘He shall see the travail of his soul, and his heart shall be content.’ (Isaiah 53.11) See Luke 15.10 and Hebrews 12.1-2.

But, friend, if you despise the graciousness of God, if you trample his blood beneath your feet, then you are breaking the heart of the Son of God a second time. Your assault on him is worse than that of the Jews. It is as if you were shaking hands with the devil over the dead body of Christ. ‘How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by those who have spurned the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant by which they were sanctified and despised the Spirit of Grace?’ (Hebrews 10.29)

Hear the cry of the Saviour: ‘Is it nothing to you, you people who pass by on the path? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow.’ (Lamentations 1.12)

Whose is the voice crying

On Calvary?

It is that of the gracious Lord

Bearing the burden of pain.

Hands grasped the spear

And pierced his side.

Blood issued out

On the cross.

THE GATHERING AT WHANGARAE

To the Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa. Greetings, friend. Here are a few words which our bird can carry to the four corners of these islands. Although were live in the wilderness called Whangarae, we want you to hear our voice and to know what we are doing.

One of the teachers at the school, Miss Denker, went on 3rd of this month to nurse in the hospital in Wellington. She is a good woman, gracious, loving and caring for people. She has gone with our blessing. No-one has yet taken her position but we are still looking.

On 3rd of this month there was a hui here. Maori came from Te Hoiere, Okaha, the Wairarapa, and other parts of Aotearoa. Two ships brought them here. The main subjects of the speakers were bringing to an end the consumption of strong drink and the fostering of good works amongst the Maori. One hundred and sixty-five attended.

Some Maori wanted to see the work done by children at the school with a view to establishing a school at Okoha and the teacher, Miss Kelly, agreed. On the evening of 12th the younger people gathered at the school. The older men and women did not attend. The activities were a group song, a Pakeha dance, and speeches in English. People were full of praise for the teacher and children who were acquiring the English language so quickly. When the older men and women heard of this they asked the children to come so that they might see them. There was then a second performance at the village and the elders praised them. On 16th the people returned home. Bless you in your work for the Lord in the power of God. From Waihaere Piparaiti.

MY MOTHER

It is said that there is a tree in India which,

although it is drawn by the sun and the sky

to spread out freely its branches,

to stretch out and to blossom above,

yearns rather to make its branches

curve down to the soil it loves.

Thence came its life, is growth, the warming

Of its body from its birth.

In like manner, although attracted by a multitude of contemporary friends

To seek fame (such as it is),

My beloved mother, my heart curves down

To you in yearning love.

The tree spoken of in the song is the banyan. It grows in India. Its branches curve down to the ground and grow into another trunk for the tree. This is the most extraordinary tree in the world. Seven thousand soldiers have sheltered in its shade. It can cover more than 30 acres of ground. It is firm in its affection for its mother earth. Although it climbs upwards its desire is to return to the earth. Likewise, boys and girls, love and do not forget her who brought you into this world, who brought you up and fed you. Stay close to her. Bless her and make her last days happy. Tomorrow you will have sadness when she is lost to your sight and when you can no longer hear her calling your name. 

R T M K

[5]  

THE YOUNG MAORI SCHOLARS

Apirana Turupa Ngata MA, LLB

Apirana is the only Maori of New Zealand who has gained Pakeha degrees. He has been enrolled as a lawyer of the Supreme Court of New Zealand. His tribe is Ngati Porou.

Hamiora Hei 

 He has passed two stages of the legal qualification, LLB. He has still to do the third part of that degree, and if he passes he will be awarded that degree. His tribes are Whanau-a-Apanui and Ngati Porou.

Reweti T Mokena Kohere 

He attended Christchurch University. He passed part of the BA Degree. One part is yet to be completed. When he passes that he will be awarded that degree. He was appointed an assistant master at the Ministry School at Te Raukahikatea, Gisborne. His tribe is Ngati Porou.

Tutere Wi-Repa and Peter Buck 

 These are the young Maoris at the Otago Medical School. This is a very difficult course, but it is one that can be mastered by the Maori hand. Greetings, lads! Be strong! Be strong! Tutere Wi-Repa belongs to Te Whanau-a-Apanui and Ngati Porou, and Peter Buck to Te Atiawa, Taranaki.

Fred Bennett 

He studied at the Nelson Theological College and passed the Fourth Division of the Pakeha ministry qualification. He is going around Taranaki preaching at present.

These are the young Maori scholars, and they also are the ones who write for Te Pipiwharauroa. There are also other young Maori scholars whose names we will mention some other time. The above are only a selection.

MAORI AND THE WAR

Thousands of Maori dream of going to Africa to fight but for various reasons the Pakeha do not encourage this. One full Maori has gone to fight, Hohepa from Moteo, Hastings, and some half-castes, James Thorpe, an old boy of Te Aute, from Whanganui, Wiri Piti from Gisborne, Waata Karawe from Hauraki whose people are Whakatohea, Hone Waaka from Opotiki of the Ngati Porou tribe, Jim Poynter from Gisborne, Pekama Aata from Ngati Porou, and Te Paki Withers from Opotiki. None of these men has been wounded. Wiri Piti, Timi Taapu and Waata Karawe from the first contingent have been in the thick of the fighting. Greetings, lads! Make your names.

Although we Maori are not permitted to go, there are many ways to show our affection and our loyalty to the greatest power on earth, our Queen. We can make a collection to provide for the widows and orphans of those who have carried weapons and have fallen. The Pakeha are collecting, and how! Heretaunga and Wairarapa held a gathering at Papawai to provide money for this purpose and raised a total of £431. This was a great day. Thousands of people, Maori and Pakeha, gathered together. The activities included a sale of goods and animals, other diversions, entertainment, and a mock battle. For the mock battle of the Mota River, Ruamahanga was the river, the Maori were the English, and the Pakeha, the Boers. The Maori did not want to be Boers as they were defeated. Both sides were mounted and had machine guns. Who knows but that news of this idea will spread throughout the whole world?

A large Maori gathering was held in Wellington. People attended from the Wairarapa, Otaki and other places. Their camp was on the cricket ground in the middle of the town. There were haka and other customs and craft of the Maori were on display for the Pakeha. Many Pakeha came to see those people and the money raised came to £500. On the departure of the 5th Contingent, they participated in the farewells. They were led by Timi Kara and Tamahau Mahupuku.

The collection made by Ngati Porou has been put in the Post Office. It is not yet known how large it is. Ngati Porou graciously bestowed their name, Porourangi, upon Lord Roberts. He was given a mere which had been handed down from the ancestors. Tuta Nihoniho presented it.

The Prime Minister said that if Maori were allowed to go it would not be long before there were 2000 young men ready to go. A telegram arrived for the Governor from Joseph Chamberlain, Secretary of State for the Colonies, saying, ‘The Queen is very happy with the loyalty of the Maori people and at their willingness to help.’

[6] 

THE CAUSES OF THE WAR IN TRANSVAAL 

(by Reweti T Mokena Kohere)

Many Maori are choosing to side with the Boers. They believe that the real cause of the fighting in Transvaal is that the English want the Boers’ land. They’ve got this idea perhaps from foolish Pakeha who speak disparagingly of the English, but I think the main source is ignorance and resentment for the evil inflicted by the Pakeha on the Maori and their land. Certainly we have suffered, but we are a superior people to most of the native races of the world. Our sufferings do not compare with those of the native people of Transvaal. By and by I will speak of the native people under Boer rule.

When the war in Transvaal had not even begun, Te Pipiwharauroa described the colony of Transvaal and its beginning. The intensity of Boer hatred of the English led to them leaving the Cape Colony to live in Transvaal in 1840 (the year of the Treaty of Waitangi). Black people occupied that land, which was taken from them by the Boers. The Boers and the natives fought for eight years before a government was established, but the anger of the native people did not subside. Because of the impatience of the Boers with the Zulus and the troubled state of the land including nearby English places which were on the alert, England took over the government of Transvaal – this was the English take-over of Transvaal bringing it under her authority.

In 1881 the Boers fought the English because they were unwilling to live under the different English rule. In this war the battle at which the English were defeated was called Majuba Hill but the Boers would have suffered had the Gladstone government not made peace. By the terms of the treaty Transvaal was restored to the Boers, though the honour remained with the English. This treaty was signed in 1881; it was renewed in 1884, but the influence of the English was widespread in the land.

Because of the great quantity of gold found in Transvaal, thousands of men from other places came to prospect for gold, and they invested in very profitable gold mines. After this war strangers outnumbered the Boers. However their status was like that of the blacks: they had no voice in the government. Although they paid most of the taxes they had no vote and were not able to stand as members of Parliament. Only Boers could be judges or police. Many English suffered. In the past year an Englishman was murdered but the law has made little effort to find the murderer. English children were not allowed by the Boers to learn the English language. What man could accept this patiently? The English were like slaves. Because of what they were subjected to, they appealed to England for help.

Following their request, in 1895 Dr Jameson raised on his own account a force of 512. It was not done on orders from the English Government. The small force was not able to make ground and all were captured. Those prisoners were released to the English Government to be tried and punished for illegally inciting war.

On May 24th, 1899, a petition signed by 21,000 English people resident in Transvaal asked the Queen to take note of their ill-treatment at the hands of the Boers. Following this petition the Government began to urge Kruger, the Boer spokesman, to take note of the English living in his land. Sir Alfred Mildon, the Governor of Cape Colony met Kruger but he was unyielding. The English request was a mild one; that strangers who had lived in Transvaal for five years should have the same rights as the Boers. Kruger did not agree; he wanted at least seven years. At this time the Boers were assiduously purchasing rifles, powder and cannons, while England continued to remonstrate. Lord Salisbury, the Prime Minister of England, and Joseph Chamberlain, the Colonial Secretary, were very patient with the Boers and their activities. England sought to bring a peaceful end to these troubles. But while England was pondering these things, on October 9th 1899 Kruger’s ultimatum arrived, saying that if England did not comply with his wish that soldiers on the Transvaal border be withdrawn he would go to war. From ancient time, it was the Boers who were the first people to deliver an ultimatum to England. The words of Kruger in his telegram were contemptuous and boastful, and caused a stir when read in Parliament. [7] On October 11th the Boers went to war and on 12th they entered Natal, an English territory. Does not your heart bleed because they have come and trampled over the marae?

This war was thrust upon us by the Boers. They mistakenly thought that because there were so few English that they could drive them into the sea. The Boers had been preparing for this war for a long time. It is thought that the Boers and the Orange Free State had planned to destroy the influence of England in the whole of southern Africa. They thought that if they defeated the English first, then the thousands of Dutch living in Cape Colony would rally to help them. General White was to disillusion them. The elders have a saying:

He tangi to te tamariki he whakama to te pakeke. 
'When the child cries the adult is embarrassed.'  [cf Nga Pepeha 733]

But note that the Orange Free State did not join in this fight; there was no animosity between them and the English. If the English had wanted to fight all things would have been made ready for battle. As it was the war had been started long before the soldiers arrived. And the English cannons were not as good or as powerful as those of the Boers. Those of the sailors on board the battleships were alright.

Concerning the native people of Transvaal. In New Zealand the Maori is responsible for his body and all his possessions. The Maori of New Zealand has the right to vote for a member of Parliament and to stand for election as a member. But in Transvaal the natives are treated as beasts; they are even in some places shot at for sport. The Boer churches have written on the outside, ‘Dogs and natives are not to enter this building.’ The newspapers have published a letter written by the sister of the Prime Minister of Cape Colony in which she calls upon Christian people to pray for this conflict and that the English may be strengthened. The reason, besides the wickedness of the laws …. is the terrible treatment of the native people by the Boers. Bless those people.

The Boers, that is, the Dutch, in Cape Colony are equal with the English; there is one law for everyone. The government is in the hands of the Boers though the country is English. But Transvaal is different; there are separate laws for the Boers and the English. Is this right? Should the English not be pained? Should not his heart feel this? War is evil, dreadful, painful, and sad, but it is worse for people to live as slaves

THE WAR IN TRANSVAAL

The Death of General Joubert

The death of General Joubert has caused great sadness amongst the Boers. He was the leader of all the Boer soldiers. It was not by wounds or the sword of the enemy that that elder was brought low, but by the many afflictions that are common to men.

General White spoke in praise of that elder. Speaking in Capetown he said, ‘General Joubert is a great soldier, a very brave man, a man well-versed in the art of warfare’. Soon after this speech, confirmation came of the death of General Joubert.

Although General Joubert was an enemy, because of the goodness of his methods and his conduct his death caused very great sadness amongst the English.

The Queen sent a telegram to General Roberts asking him to convey to General Joubert’s widow her sadness at the death of her husband. A sheaf of flowers arrived from those held prisoner in Pretoria by the English. It lay on his coffin during the mourning as evidence of their sorrow at the death of that very brave elder. Farewell. Sir! Only yesterday thousands were listening to your voice; this day you have been gathered to your ancestors. How are the mighty fallen! [2 Samuel 1.25]

The Defeat of the English

An English force under General Broadwood struck trouble at Korn Spruit, a place near Bloemfontein. General Broadwood sent part of his army forward with six cannons. The Boers spotted the party and their divisions were deployed. The English had no inkling that their enemies were so near and were drawn into the net prepared for them. The Boers then appeared in front, behind and on the sides. The force was delivered into the Boers’ hands without a gun being fired. It was a remarkable feat that those following were saved despite the pressure from the Boers. The name of the New Zealanders was heard in this battle. [8] They strongly resisted Boer pressure while most of the army was retreating. Seventeen of them were taken prisoner by the Boers.

Those responsible were greatly at fault in not sending out spies. Had they done so the English would not have suffered this defeat.

The Boers continue their awesome progress.

The English suffered another setback at Reddersburg, 36 miles south of Bloemfontein. There was a division of 600 there under General Caddock. They went to see that the land was clear. When they were returning they encountered a Boer force of 5,000. After fighting for 21 hours the force gave itself up as prisoners to the Boers when their ammunition ran out, and they had no more food or water. They had no cannons. Ten of them died, 35 were wounded and 546 were taken prisoner.

The English suffer another setback.

While 50 soldiers of General Kitchener’s army were guarding a farm near the Riet River they were attacked by a Boer force of 400. They persevered for four days until their food ran out and all the horses were dead, Then they gave themselves up to the enemy. Those 50 were very brave. The behaviour of the Boers remains disgusting. Stir yourself, elder Roberts! Look to yourself.

General Roberts Army

Eventually General Roberts acted. He travelled a long way. The horses of General Bridge’s army were ill but now some horses arrived to replace those that were ill. And warm clothing has arrived for the army. That land is very cold at present.

Mafeking

An army of 5,000 surrounds Mafeking. A relief army approached Mafeking from the north. That army numbering 500 is under Colonel Palmer. Their achievement is extraordinary insofar as they neared Mafeking; another six miles and they would have arrived, but they saw that the Boer force was very large. General Roberts instructed Colonel Powell to hold on to the fort until the Queen’s Birthday, 24th May. Colonel Powell agreed saying also that he would do all in his power to hold the fort. The problem the fort has is a shortage of meat, but there is plenty of bread.

Additional stories from the war.

General Roberts has given orders for the return of General Pretorius to his people. He is one of the Boer Generals taken prisoner by the English before. General Roberts said he was a brave man and so it was appropriate to return him honourably to his people.

At the market held in Ladysmith on 24th February, when the town was still suffering, these were the prices of some things: for a can of milk, 10/-; for a single egg, 4/-; for one hen, 18/-; for a plate of potatoes, 19/-; for fag-ends of tobacco from 3 ½ p to £3/5s.

Native people living under English rule all wish to join in the fighting but are not permitted. Two thousand natives from the north of India want to come and fight for General Roberts.

According to some of the Boer officers taken prisoner by the English, the total number of soldiers fighting for the Boers at present is 75,000.

The people of France are collecting money with which to buy a sword to honour General Cronje. The people of Russia are also collection money for cups. As we see it, there is no reason to honour him; he has not won the war. We believe these actions by France and Russia are simply evidence of their hatred of the English.

Taine, the spokesman for the Orange Free State, says that he is running the war badly and the end will be the complete destruction of his people.

It is General Roberts who is the real man of stature, as leader, warrior, and scholar. His designation in English is Lord Roberts of Waterford and Kandahar, PC, KP, GCB, GCSI, GCSE, VC, DCI, LLD.

General White has arrived in England following his illness. He contracted fever at Ladysmith. General Caddock has returned to England. This was the general defeated by the Boers. Perhaps he will be interrogated.

[9] 

Lord Roberts has rebuked General Warren and General Buller for the conduct of the battle at Spion Kop. General Buller’s fault was his failure to use his authority to instruct Warren to hold on to Spion Kop, and also because he did not do what he knew to be right.

The few remaining members of two companies of Irish soldiers have returned home; most of their men had died. Had they been Maori there would have been a great tangi when the survivors reached home.

Latest news of the war.

The Boers have retreated to Transvaal. Orange Free State has been abandoned out of fear that they be cut off by the English and because of the wickedness of their hearts. Roberts’ army of 70,000 is heading northward straight for Pretoria, but they have not yet entered Transvaal. The Boers now have to proceed by setting up blocks to impede progress. Kruger is building a final base for himself in the mountains. It is thought that we shall shortly hear of a great battle if peace is not arrived at and the Boers are urging the great powers to broker a peaceful settlement but no nation has said anything for fear of England. The people who are prosecuting the war are still opposed to Mother England.

England has only one thought, to overthrow the governments of Transvaal and the Orange Free State, lest they survive to be a thorn in the flesh.

A JOURNEY AROUND THE MAORI AREAS

1. NGAI TAHU

When I returned from Medical School in Dunedin, the largest town in the south of Te Waipounamu, I found myself being pestered by my people to tell them the stories of my time there. Is it not typical of us, us Maori!

Their first enquiry was about the works of the Medical School, about cutting up people, and other activities at that school. When they’d asked these questions, they would ask me, ‘Are there any Maori in that town?’ My answer to that question I have written below.

I am not able to give an account of this people from ancient times, but I will tell of how I found them when I arrived in their two towns and observed them. This account is not about all of Ngai Tahu but about one of its sub-tribes, Ngati Huirapa, living at Puketiraki, Waikouaiti and also Otakou.

When I arrived I really became aware of the truth of our Maori proverb, 
Patu ngarongaro he tangata, toitu he kainga.
‘The land remains, while the people disappear’ 
and my heart wept. Otakou was a large village in former times, a calling place for canoes from here, the East Coast. So was Puketiraki. These were the pa of this people of chiefs, of Taiaroa, of Karetai, of Tuhawaiki, of Te Maire, and others. Now the people have passed away leaving only a small remnant.

The Appearance of the Villages

The villages of those people are the same as Pakeha villages. All the houses are of timber. There are no houses of raupo or toetoe such as we have here on the East Coast. The land where the houses are built has all been cleared and the houses all stand apart. Each house stands on its own individual section. To us this is a lonely way of living, but to those people and their European ways this is not a problem. Inside, the houses are as good as Pakeha houses. Everything within is clean. They always eat at the table. People do not use fingers to put things in their mouths but always forks.

The village has a guest house for the times when many people visit. That guest house is also constructed in European fashion. However if a single visitor arrives one person will show him hospitality. They differ from us in this; we would give the visitor a plate of food. If a person wishes to see that visitor he will invite him to come to his house on an evening when he is free, just as the Pakeha does. As the Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa says, ‘Pakeha every time!’ (‘Pakeha eweri taima!’)

The language of those people is half English, half Maori, though I would say it is three-quarters English and a quarter Maori. All those people – women, men, old men and women - know the Pakeha fashions. The children of sixteen come home [?ware] without having mastered the Maori language. ‘Aren't they doing well!’

[10] 

My elders! It is an offensive thing to me that a Maori does not know his own language but uses instead the English language. However because these people have such mastery of the English language I forgive the sin of their ignorance of the language of our ancestors. But we are at fault in raising our children with inadequate English and in ignorance of the two languages we’ve received.

Worship

They are worshipping people. There is only one problem, they have no Maori clergyman. Their minister is a Pakeha and this does not go down well with the elders. It is not good for the young people. Those folk want their own Maori minister. The church is completed and the organ, all that is needed is what we have spoken of above, a minister. Will Porourangi not give thought to his starving younger brother, Tahu, there?

One remarkable thing about that village is the Sunday School for the children. That school was set up by some Pakeha women, teachers at the Pakeha school. I couldn’t help comparing them with our own Pakeha women who are not like this. I wonder why this is so? The reality of the faith of those people is seen in their behaviour and their speech. It is remarkable that during the two weeks I was there I did not hear a bad word from child or adult. Perhaps I should say that I had not long returned to Wellington before I heard Maori I met there using foul language, and I said, ‘The North Island, the North Island has its own language.’

Work

The occupations of that people are the same as those of the Pakeha of the district, dairying and growing oats and wheat. While I was there milking was the main occupation, Some have six cows, some five, some twenty-five, or whatever. The milk is put into large cans holding twenty-six gallons each and is sent to the dairy factory in Dunedin by the early train; the cans are returned on the evening train. On the last Friday of the month they go to town to collect the money. This Maori remnant is very industrious and lives well, too.

Here I must end my account of my people, of Ngati Huirapa. But I must say one final word and declare that although my people are Pakeha, in many ways their thought are truly Maori and that they are very hospitable. (There are also accounts of other districts which will be published later.) Now I must sing: ‘Huirapa – this is my concluding song. Greetings, those left behind by me!’ 

Tutere Wi-repa.

CARE FOR YOUR MARAE

In another part of our paper there is an account of the plague that is striking down people abroad; it is called ‘bubonic’. It provides the text for our article that I am setting down. It is known that it is by the small despised things of the world that it is spread. That disease is spread by rats, vermin, flies, and by the remnants of the many things that people cast aside. The place where people heap up excrement is the nesting-place for that disease. Places infested by rats are caves for corpses. Now, during the fighting between the English and Boers there occurred this other war between people and the epidemic. However the bullets flying in the Transvaal discriminated and avoided women, children, the sick and the prisoners, choosing their objectives according to the laws laid down by the Great Powers. But this coming enemy is blind, and glides along spreading out to the little, the great, the orphan, the widow, darkening the skins of people. But it also sees, insofar as it is able to distinguish the dirty body and the filthy marae. That’s what he is after.

Maori people, what is the message for us? It is not a strange idea but only that inscribed at the top of this article, namely, ‘Care for your marae!’ Kill rats and lice. Exterminate them. This will bring an end to the evil.

Destroy the places where flies swarm, heaps of sea urchin shells, places where pigs wallow, heaps of ordure. There is an assault going on. There may yet be an attack on your marae. Sirs, you are keen to go to Africa to support your soldiers, but the fortifications right here that need attacking are the fortifications just outside that harbour this terrible and disgusting disease. What are we to do then? Do we wait until it arrives and then try to drive it away? Yes, wait until the pigs have uprooted your kumara patch and then set about repairing the fence! This is not the way to do things. 

Apirana Ngata.

[11]  

A NOTICE

To those wishing to purchase a Prayer Book or a Hymn Book. I now have plenty of these. The Prices: Large paperback – 2/6. Large hardback – 4/-. Large Very Good Hardback – 5/6. Small paperback – 1/-. Small hardback – 2/6. Small very good hardback – 3/6. Hymn Book – 1/-. I will pay the postage to send the books to you. 

H W Williams, Te Rau, Gisborne.

THE SHOOTING OF THE PRINCE OF WALES

On 5th April the Prince of Wales was shot at at the railway station at Brussels the capital of Belgium by a 15 year-old boy called Sipido, but the Prince was not wounded. The boy discharged the pistol twice. The first bullet struck the prince’s seat; the second bullet missed and struck about a foot from his head. As the boy was trying to shoot he was overtaken and seized by some men. The Prince was inside one of the carriages of the train sitting with his wife. The would-be assassin was outside. He fired through the window. The Queen’s son was very lucky to escape, but he was blessed by the continuing prayers of the people for him. According to Sipido he was striking at the killer of thousands of people in Africa. It is thought that Sipido was indoctrinated by some supporters of the Boers. Earlier on the same day on which he shot at the Prince he had gone to a meeting of Boer supporters who were denouncing the English. Brussels is the home of Dr Leyds, the leader of all the Boers in Europe. The English indignation was very great. Telegrams of sympathy to the Queen and her son came from all places under her dominion as well as from some kings and other strangers. The King of Belgium was very sad that such a deed should be done in his land. Dr Leyds and Kruger both expressed sympathy to the Prince. The Prince and his wife were going at the time to Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, to celebrate the birthday of the king of that land, the father of the Prince of Wales’ wife. When they arrived in Copenhagen they were given a great welcome. On some of the Prince’s travels he is accompanied by bodyguards. On this occasion he had no bodyguards following him closely and he was unfortunate.

This was the first time the Prince of Wales has been shot at by someone, but his mother, the Queen, has been the object of assassination attempts – in 1840, May and July 1842, 1849 and 1882. The Queen was not hit. People who attempt to assassinate others are despicable.

In the past century 56 assassination attempts have been made on the lives of kings, queens and the offspring of kings. Only eight died. The Queen of Austria, a beautiful woman, was the last to die. That Queen was stabbed by an Italian while she was boarding a ship in Switzerland in 1898.

THE QUEEN AND THE IRISH

This month our Queen crossed to Ireland, the land of the Irish. The people were very welcoming and delighted that the Queen had come to see them. She has visited Ireland only once in the past fifty years. Her last visit was while her husband, Prince Albert, was still alive. The Queen was cautious about making the crossing given the ill-will of the Irish. However, with English, Scots and Irish fighting together in Africa for the Queen the enmity has decreased. The Irish have shown their strength in the fighting and many of them have died. It was to honour the bravery of the Irish soldiers that the Queen visited their island. Some of the English Generals are Irish. The Duke of Wellington, the one who thrashed Napolean and his army at Waterloo, is from there. Also from there is Lord Woodhead, a warrior in his youth, but who is now, because of his age the supreme commander of English soldiers throughout the world. Also from there are Lord Roberts, Lord Kitchener, General White and General Bridge. When the Queen set foot in Ireland she was given a shamrock plucked from the top of the grave of Patrick, the man who turned Ireland to the faith. She pinned it to her chest. The shamrock is the emblem of the Irish, the scotch thistle that of the Scots, the rose that of the English, the huia that of the Maori.

[12] 

 CHURCH GATHERINGS

In February the Maori Church of the Diocese of Waiapu in the Heretaunga area held a gathering at Porangahau. Present were the Bishop and five ministers along with eighteen lay representatives. Gratitude was expressed for the Bishop’s speech. The Bishop said that the great task of the gathering was to look at the problems of the Church, at its weaknesses, and to find a remedy for those failings. Some evidences of the failures and ineffectiveness in faith were a failure to commit to prayer, dirty and falling churches, no children attending Sunday School, a lack of lively worship in churches (with people pursuing instead the deceits of ‘Serpent Satan’ mentioned in Number 21), and infrequent participation in the Lord’s Supper. Ten motions were agreed and noted in the book but the important thing is translating the motions into action. So what will be the outcome of this motion: ‘We urge the Maori ministers and the people of the Church to bring an end to the practice of consulting tohunga. This is causing a diminution of faith. Rather let us suppress these native practices.’ We thought that it is unlikely that the gathering will persuade the ministers and the Church people against supporting the Maori tohunga, though it is very clear that the Scriptures condemn such native practices.

Remuera te Urupu was nominated as a Maori lay representative to the Diocesan Synod for the July session. Next year’s gathering will be at Whakapau in the Mohaka district near Nukutaurua.

In March the District of Tauranga held its meeting at Maketu. Present were the Bishop, six clergy, and fourteen laymen. Right at the beginning of the Bishop’s speech he made these points. He said: ‘People face many difficulties when they ignore their Creator and despise their Saviour, Jesus Christ.’ Before the fighting between Maori and Pakeha the Maori looked to the faith; afterwards they were distracted and some peoples abandoned the faith but they are beginning to return. [Since the fighting began in Africa some people here have been distracted. What they would like is for the Pipi to feature only stories of the war and certainly not articles about faith.]

Twenty-one motions were agreed. One motion pressed for the education of children on Sundays, another for the suppression of Maori tohunga, of drink and of Pakeha dances and Maori haka. There was also agreement to reinstate Archdeacon Samuel Williams’ initiative to augment the ministers’ sustentation. Next year’s meeting will be at Rotorua.

LATE NEWS

The government is establishing technical schools for Maori children on the East Coast, at Hokianga, and in the Waikato. The one on the East Coast will be at Taumata-o-Mihi, Waiapu, because Eruera Kawhia has donated land there to the Government. Well done, Government!

RULES OF TE PIPWHARAUROA

I. If you write to the paper do it like this: The Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa, Te Raukahikatea, Gisborne. Do not put the name of an individual.

II. The paper is published monthly during the last week.

III. The price of the paper is 5/- p.a.

IV. If you are sending money to Te Pipiwharauroa, use a Postal Note. If this is not possible you may send stamps, but only one penny stamps.

SUPPLEJACK SEEDS FOR OUR BIRD

£1/5/- Rev H P Huata, Mrs Grant.

5/- William Phillips, Ngawati, Pua Rakau, Nikorima Popotara, Mr McDonnell, Moka Timo, Hawiri Wahapu, Waikura Tautuhi-o-rongo, Komene Te Ito, Hakaraia Pahewa, Aperahama Renata, Riripotaka Wikiriwhi, Te Rere Paipa, Pirika Hape, Henare Werahiko, Horomona Paraone, Erueti Hohepa, W Tamaiparea, AporoPaerata, Tiwini Poharama,Rotu Taitea, Hariata Tangihaere, Wiremu Karaka, Rev A Rangi, Matene Te Koro, Napoleon Heta, Mihaere Koura, P Waipapa, Ropiha, Hira Paea.

3/- Mr Downey

2/6 Tiopira Paerata, Hori Teihi, Hurona, Hohaia Te Hoata, Mr Longan, Harowe Teri, Kare Hataraka, Tiniwa Whatanui, Apirana Pahina.

2/- H Rangituia, Hori Te Ariki, Henare te Maire, Tuhaka.

H W Williams, Te Rau Press, Gisborne