Te Pipiwharauroa 96

Te Pipiwharauroa 96

No. 96

1906/03

(Maori Version at NZETC.)

[1] Te Pipiwharauroa, He Kupu Whakamarama, Number 96, Gisborne, March 1906.

THE WORDS OF TIMI KARA

According to Pakeha thinking it is not right for leaders of the Church to involve themselves in Parliamentary disputes, with the provisions of the laws made by Parliament. This perhaps lies behind the condemnation by some people of Te Pipiwharauroa’s strong criticism of the Native Land Settlement Act and its call to the tribes to unite and to paddle the canoes to England with the message to the King that the Government of these islands has trampled on the sacred Treaty made by his mother between them and the Maori.

We agree that it is wrong for the clergy to be caught up with some aspects of Parliamentary work such as running electoral campaigns and some other things, but if the clergy see that their people are suffering because of a law then it is right that they speak out and condemn that law. Who was it now that promoted the Maori People coming under the shelter of the Queen and to make a covenant between them and the Queen? Was it not the Church? And should not that Church speak out when it says that covenant being broken by Pakeha greedy for land?

We strongly condemned that law and warned the Maori People because we know that this law will result in suffering for the Maori. If it is good that is fine, if our fears come to nothing, but if this law results in suffering then it will be the worst possible affliction for Maori. They may go on living in the world but they will be slaves.

In his speech in Wellington, Timi Kara said that the Government should be careful.

At a banquet in Wellington Timi Kara spoke about the Maori lands. He said: ‘The time has come when Maori lands should be leased or worked, but the Treaty of Waitangi must not be broken.’ He also said that this was something to be considered by all who desired the growth of this colony, the occupation of Maori lands. While perhaps people are eager that Maori lands should be occupied let them not forget the Maori. They should seek to see the two peoples living well together and sharing the same ideas. It will not be difficult to frame laws to achieve this and which will result in the good of both sides. There is nothing wrong with land being taken under the laws by which Pakeha lands are taken. There must not be different laws for Pakeha and Maori. After the Maori Minister, the Hon T K MacDonald spoke saying that Parliament should be careful in dealing with Maori lands, but it was a bad thing that 8½ million acres should be lying idle – bad for Maori and very bad for the Colony.

We approve of most of what Timi Kara said. We are happy that he upheld the Treaty of Waitangi because we had thought that Timi Kara disregarded the Treaty of Waitangi as he had said in the House last year that the Treaty’s authority had ended. [2] If the Maori People suffer let it be under the Treaty of Waitangi, the Second Provision of which says that Maori have the rights over their own lands. The Treaty of Waitangi should not be breached by the Government taking to itself the power to manage Maori lands which have not been handed over by Maori.

What however we condemn is what Timi Kara said about the seizure of Maori lands. Even if Maori lands are acquired under the same laws as apply to the acquisition of Pakeha lands that would still not be right. If a Pakeha’s 20,000 acres of land are bought for £5 an acre he will get £100,000. He will have a living because he is the sole seller, and he knows that this £100,000 will grow to £1,000,000 in a few years. The Pakeha is not going to suffer. But if this 20,000 acres belonged to 500 Maori, that is, 40 acres per person, and the land is sold for £5 an acre, then each person would get £250. Can a man and his family live on £250. If this money is left to that Maori then before a year has gone it will be used up, and this man will have no land. The 40 acres is better for the man that £250. But Timi Kara says that all the money should be given to a trustee to look after, with the interest being given to the Maori. £250 would yield about £8 of interest and will a person be able to live on £8 a year? Which is better, that a Maori should work on his 40 acres or that he should laze about waiting for his £8? Thoughtful people see that it will be a disaster for Maori if their lands are taken. If the Pakeha’s lands are taken then he would not suffer because of the many avenues of work open to him, but agriculture is all that the Maori knows – his ancestors were not blacksmiths or carpenters or any of the many other jobs of the Pakeha. Leave to the Pakeha his occupations and leave to the Maori his lands. Don’t lust in vain after Maori lands. If the provisions by which Maori land could be acquired were the same as those by which Pakeha land can be acquired it would not be right to acquire the Maori land because when it is divided up the area for each Maori is too small, that is, the Government has no right to confiscate the 20,000 acres of 500 Maori because, if that land were parcelled out there would be 250 acres for each Maori. Where in New Zealand can one find a single Maori holding 20,000 acres?

So the right thing to do is this. Those lands which are not being worked by Maori should be leased, that is, those lands called by the law, the ‘remnants’. Timi Kara does not like this word, ‘remnants’, he wants the land to be spread out. Timi Kara is a friend to the Maori people, but he is friend to keep an eye on. We totally agree with the words of Raniera Erihana when he says that if the Government’s wish is to see the settlement of the Maori lands, why should they stop at leasing and why not make it possible to buy? People, be watchful lest you are overcome with sleep and we are struck by the enemy, the Pakeha, eager for our remaining lands.

MAORI LANDS

In his speech to the Pakeha of Te Aroha, the Prime Minister said these words, ‘Let us open up the Maori lands.’ He believes that his words will not be rejected by Parliament and that when Parliament convenes this year as many as 500,000 acres of Maori land will be settled. He said to the people at Waimarama that the desire for the remaining Maori lands, that is, those lands which they are not working, is like the flowing tide. One cannot stop it. So the important thing is to fashion a law to provide for Maori who have no land, and he perceives that it is right that Maori can lease their lands. What the Government is doing is good, he says when it makes it possible for some pieces of Maori land to be sold for Pakeha dwellings but Maori should also be enabled to live on their own lands. He asks himself why agriculture has declined amongst Maori, and he thinks that the main fault lies with the Pakeha. The Maori were previously an agricultural people and he thinks that they will again be in coming days.

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Mr Seddon visited Waimarama for the wedding of Taina Mihikore Karauria and Tu te Teira, a young chief of Heretaunga. Mihikore is the daughter of Iraia, the brother of Airini. Tu is the son of Te Tera Tiakitai. This was a large wedding.

NOTICE

We have copies of A Catechism for Children to Learn and The Sunday Prayers. Any clergyman wanting some should contact us and they will be sent free of charge.

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APIRANA NGATA’S SPEECH

Wai-o-Matatini, Waiapu.

January 12th, 1906.

To the Farmers of Ngati Porou.

Sons! Daughters! Greetings.

Greetings in the new year, and in this new situation which we have at this time since I have been instructed by you and the people of Tai Rawhiti to speak for you and for them in Parliament.

I thank you for the rapidity with which you welcomed the idea of gathering together the young people and elders of Ngati Porou in this area from Tawhiti to Patangata to seek and to question and to set up together ways of benefiting our tribe and also our remaining lands. In this way we will bring the works to maturity, and I will be clear about the basis of my ideas when I get to Parliament, I will know what you want and I will make every effort to find ways of meeting those wishes.

But the main purpose of our coming together is the matter I proposed during the days of the election campaign which was, in short, Agriculture.

Since this matter was welcomed by the Tai-Rawhiti, we have come to the time to expand on what was said, to explain things, and to trace the many branches of this matter. The unwrapping of our topic has been thrown upon me; and I am happy in this new year to lay before your hui my ideas and to begin setting them out first in my home area. I ask you to include this article of mine in the subjects to be discussed by your gathering.

I. Repel this jibe, ‘Maori are lazy.’

Because this calumny, ‘they are lazy’, is widely used of the Maori, the first thing to be done by your group and other groups being set up on the Tai Rawhiti electorate in the future with similar objectives to yours, is to counter this jibe. I think that some of the ways to counter this calumny are the following:

(a) You must point out what Maori were like in the days before the sale of land. They were an agricultural people. The occupations engaged in by Maori in those days were wheat growing, raising pigs, trading with ships, and other works.

(b) You must point out the ways in which Maori have gone wrong as a result of the sale and leasing of land. Maori have been left to survive on the products of that. They relied on the money they got. It was an easy living and they put no effort into physical labour.

(c) You must point out the barriers and difficulties presented by the many laws of Parliament which discouraged the Maori People so that they were not able to achieve the things they wanted to do to improve their lands.

(d) You must summarize all the present accounts of agriculture in your areas:

1. The beginnings and the continuation up to the present day of sheep farming amongst Ngati Porou, the number of sheep and other animals belonging to Maori at this time, the value of improvements on those lands, and the acres that have been improved.

2. The labouring jobs done by Maori on lands occupied by Pakeha.

(e) After this you must set down firmly that you wish to engage in agriculture or in trades, and ask that Government, Maori and Pakeha, help you to fulfil this idea.

(f) The objectives that you set down should rightly be sent to the Pakeha newspapers of the Colony in order that the Pakeha people should hear this side of the discussions of Maori lands which is unfamiliar to them. They would be welcomed by the newspapers and would enlist their help with these new progressive ideas.

(9) This should be the title of a major petition to Parliament this year. The explanations will combat this allegation of laziness on the part of Maori people.

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 II. Clarifications about the land from Tawhiti to Patangata.

That is enough of that. Let us look at this matter, concentrating on the lands you are immediately concerned with, those in your home area from Tawhiti to Patangata. You must make every effort to lay out clearly before you the details of the rights, the maps, the values, the classifications, the burden of taxes and rates, the tracks and roads, the provisions and the number of years of the leases of places to Pakeha, the lists of names of landholders of areas that have been subject to court determination, and all other matters which you understand to be relevant to the lands of your area when your group sets about its work. Only by so doing will it be clear how you can set out you plan.

I shall explain the sections there and the ways in which you can achieve these clarifications.

1. The grants of land and the lists of names are available from the Maori Land Court in Gisborne. Ask that they be copied for you. Your Committee must send the list of lands for their people to work on.

2. The map of the County of Waiapu is in the Surveyors’ Office in Gisborne. It will not cost much money for you to get a copy. Once you have this, put it in your group’s office and mark on it the boundaries of the various types of landholding.

I. Those held by the Government.

II. Those that have been sold to Pakeha.

III. Those being leased by Pakeha.

IV. Those held by Maori, and within these separate out (a) areas that have been through the court, (b) areas held under customary title, and (c) areas being farmed.

3. The value of the lands and the size of the rates is available from Waiapu Council Office (Pakeha) at Waipiro Bay. It would be a good thing if your committee gave instructions for these to be copied, and that copies be made also of the list of names of Maori people on the roll of ratepayers in each riding of the County of Waiapu, and how many votes they have.

It is nearing the time for the Pakeha Council to set the rates for the Maori lands of this district and it is appropriate that your group takes this action at this time. Let me explain.

A. I have given instructions that you be provided with copies of the Native Land Rating Act 1904.

B. Those who have an interest in each block that is subject at this time to rates should remember to appoint careful people to compile the roll of those paying rates. Do not heap onto one person many blocks, but carefully divide them up and find a separate person for each block or for each part of a block, so that many Maori will get the right to vote for members of the Council of their district and so we shall have a voice in managing the rates in our district.

C. Determine which lands are appropriate (a) for full rates, (b) for ¾ rates, (c) for ½ rates, (d) for no rates. Determine these matters with an accommodating heart, and in the clear knowledge that we now live within the laws and with a desire to help the progress of the land with roads and bridges.

4. The only Government taxes applicable to Maori lands are the leases, and those Pakeha who hold the leases of our lands can explain this to your Committee, going back to 1896 when it began.

It would be a good thing were it made clear and that we should be informed how much tax is taken on the leased land of our district because they are a contribution from our lands to the Colony. The days are coming when these taxes will be extended to the Maori People.

5. Your Committee should demand of the Survey Office in Gisborne the amount of survey money available for the lands of Ngati Porou, the surveys yet to be done, whether they be of lands under customary title or Crown grant lands.

These will be a burden on the lands and will cause suffering in days to come, and it is right that ways be found to lighten these.

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6. As to the provisions of the leases and the number of years of the leases held by our Pakeha friends, they can be found out by each hapu asking them; but each Committee should seek to have the details in their office.

7. I shall send you the list of names the Government has of the pieces of Maori land in this district soon to be put on the market; and afterwards I shall explain what we should do about those.

8. The Committee should also seek to ascertain which have been designated or are at present being processed under the Corporation provisions.

(To be continued.)

I AM THE WISE MAN

To the Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa.

Let this article be published in response to the article by Te Waaka Te Huia in Te Pipi, Number 93, in which he said that then there is the learning of the deep things of Scripture. 'English people and Maori delight in learning the depths of the Scriptures. And why should the learning of those who have not ascended to the lofty peaks of education be despised?’ Now, my friend, if you were a person who knew the Scripture you would not speak in that way. Consider whether astrologers or the tohunga who ascended the lofty peaks could point out the meaning of the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar. Indeed, let us consider Joseph who explained the dream of Pharaoh as well as those of his friends who were with him in prison. Had he learned the deep things of the Scriptures?

Would you criticize the words of Paul who said that God had chosen the foolish ones of the world to shame the wise? My friend, let us not believe that those who have learned the deep things of Scripture understand them. The Scriptures are given by God, therefore we believe what Paul says, ‘The Spirit of God teaches the things of God and the human spirit the things of men.’ [i Corinthians 2.10-11] So it is that you and your Editor are on the lofty heights in human matters.

You say that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was preached at Paihia in 1814. It reached me and I partook of it. When the Gospel came I found life. So my beloved friends and I have been saved right up to this year of 1905.

Now, my friend, all your articles do not serve to clarify matters, though it is the case that they have been authorised by God to preach his Gospel. But Christ rather says also, ‘all who came before me are thieves and robbers.’ [John 10.8] We have learned that the Church of Christ is not the same as yours.

Rather it is built upon the foundation of the Apostles and the prophets and Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone. [Ephesians 2.20] My friend, we are not mistaken about the Church of Christ. It has within it apostles, seventy of them, prophets, a high priest and others. Of those Churches which are not built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets Paul says, ‘they have the form of worship but deny its power’ [‘having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.’ 2 Timothy 3.5 AV] Now, my friend, I have other matters as well but they are not [?he kai o roto], but they all point to you as being an arrogant and boastful person.

Paora Hopere.

Taupiri, Waikato,

23/1/06.

[Paora Hopere is an arrogant man and is not like a person who has the prophetic Spirit. He claims wrongly that he alone has God and the spirit of God and that we and others are ‘thieves and robbers’. Paora Hopere does not know that Christ has two natures – divine and human. According to Paora H if a person goes to college then the Spirit of God will not dwell in him but only with those who hold his position. Doesn’t Paora Hopere know that Paul went to college, and the Spirit of God rested powerfully on him? – Editor.]

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CORRECTIONS

The second two lines of page 6, second column, beginning ‘haua, kahore etc.’, should be placed below page 7, first column, that is, after these words, ‘The Moriori are a people.’ [This emendation has been made in the translation that follows. – Barry Olsen]

WHAREKAHIKA TO WHAREKAURI

By Tipiwhenua.

Part II

The Chatham Islands are to the east of New Zealand. The ship from Lyttelton arrives there after sailing 500 miles, but I hear that Maui’s Fishhook in Hawkes Bay is the closer being a little over 400 miles distant. Wise Pakeha say that at one time New Zealand and the Chathams were one land mass, but volcanic activity led to the connecting land being submerged in the sea. It is obvious from its soil, its hills and its rocks that this island was formed by volcanic activity. The Chatham Islands cover about 200,000 acres but many of these acres are lakes. Te Whanga is the large lagoon. The lakes cover about 50,000 acres, leaving about 150,000 acres of land and perhaps almost half of these acres are swamp or barren land on which vegetation does not grow. Much of this island is wasted, being taken over by lakes and swamps. The swamps of the Chathams are not like those of New Zealand. The New Zealand swamps are very productive places while the swamps of the Chathams are muddy, boggy and grow very little. The mainland swamps here are on the plains while those of the Chathams are on the hills, It is not possible to dry them out. If a drain is dug then only the sides of the drain will dry out and not the bottom. The peaty ground holds the water just as a sponge holds water, and if the swamp is dried out, still grass will not grow, only dwarf bracken grows. The best places of the Chathams are the shores and the wooded land and here there are sheep. It is flat country, there are no high hills, the highest place is 900 feet. I have said enough about the nature of the land, I shall now tell of the people.

The Moriori

According to some people the Moriori tribe migrated from Hawaiki separately. They migrated before the Maori. This is what the Moriori say. The Moriori and the Maori are one people, they originate in Hawaiki, however they have been separated for many years since the migration from Hawaiki. But the Moriori reached Aotearoa and Te Waipounamu. It is very clear that the Moriori migrated from New Zealand because many of the names of villages in the Chathams are the same as those in New Zealand. You have there Waitangi, Whangaroa, Kaingaroa, Tongariro, Waikato, Hikurangi, Rangitukia, Tikitiki, Titirangi, Manukau, Kairakau, Nukutaurua, Te Pana-a-Kahungunu and some others.

The reason why the Moriori migrated from Hawaiki was a quarrel, and it was a quarrel that caused them to migrate from Te Waipounamu, New Zealand. Tama-te-kohuruhuru’s hapu was Te Wheteina. His sweetheart [whaiaipo], in his language his whai-tipanga, was Papa whose hapu was Rauru. When Papa accused Tama of not being brave, Tama was angry and killed Papa. Horopapa then avenged the death of his daughter. Then Te Wheteina hapu was slaughtered by Ngati Rauru. Only Tumoana survived. After the massacre of Te Wheteina they built canoes for themselves. Then followed the migration to the Chathams. The canoes that sailed were Rangimata and Rangihoua. Rangihoua landed at Okahu to the north of the island where its crew died of cold and hunger and some died in the water. However the crew of Rangimata landed alive and they planted the karaka tree, also known as the koopi, in a place called Wairarapa. Afterwards they carried their canoe to Te Awapatiki, the mouth of Te Whanga. The lagoon was sealed off at that time. As Rangimata was being hauled along the hull cut through the sand and the lagoon was broken into. The force of the break was such that Rangimata was also smashed, and there now stands at Te Whanga a stone called Rangimata with its crew represented by another stone on top of it.

When Marupuku and his people from Rangimata arrived there were already people on the Chathams. They knew their language and they recognised them as of the same race but knew that they must have come from the mainland earlier.

A long time afterwards Moe, a man from Rauru hapu, a son of Horopapa, arrived from New Zealand. The canoe in which he sailed was called Oropuke. It was wrecked at Rangiauria [Pitt Island] at a place which is now called Oropuke. With the arrival of Moe the fighting with Te Wheteina started again. He attacked them, however he survived having been hidden by his relative, Hununga. Moe died at Rangiauria. He was burned along with his people in a house fire. It is said that the Moriori within Ngati Mamoe in Te Waipounamu get their name from Moe.

[7]

It was this ancestor of the Moriori who laid down the law, ’Ko ro patu tangata, me tapu to-ake’, that is, ‘Let the killing of people stop for ever.’ He it was who proclaimed the rule that if there was a fight and if blood flowed it was to end then – that was to be seen as a defeat. If a Moriori was struck or if blood flowed he was to call out, ‘My head has been broken.’ [E ka pakaru tanga nei upoko.] The Moriori observed these rules right up to the time when they were conquered by the Maori.

We move on and come to the time when this island was discovered by the Pakeha, Lieutenant Broughton, who landed at Kaingaroa. The Moriori gathered to see the ship and the people on board. When they saw the sailors puffing on their pipes they said, ‘Look at the fire of Mahuika bubbling out of their throats.’ They called the rigging of the ship, a net. They did not know whether the Pakeha were men or women. Some said that they were women and began to drag the Pakeha to their homes in the bush, whereupon the Pakeha shot their guns to frighten them. When the Maori heard the sound of the gun, they called out, ‘Listen to the exploding of the rimu tree of their god, Hauaro.’ When the Pakeha saw a party of Maori advancing they fired again and some of the Moriori were wounded; one, called Tamakororo, died. To appease the Moriori the Pakeha left a gift on the shore in recompense for their error, and it is said that the Moriori were angry with those amongst them who had shown violence to the Pakeha.

Many years later whaling and sealing ships arrived at the Chatham Islands. On board one of these ships were some Maori. One called Pakiwhara was from Ngati Tama, and another, Ropata Tama-i-hengia, was from Ngati Toa. Ropata lived with the Moriori in a village on the far north of the island. The village was called Wharekauri. Ropata did not know the language of the Moriori and when he returned to New Zealand he said that the name of the island was Wharekauri and so we Maori call that island Wharekauri though its real name is Rekohu.

The person who brought to his people news of the food supplies on the Chathams was Pakiwhara. When he landed at Wellington, that is, Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara, he said, ‘To the east of here is a land for food, with many fish and seafoods and many eels. It is a fertile land. It is a land of albatrosses.’ The Moriori were a Maori tribe. People got the idea of conquering Wharekauri. They summoned a hui. A hui was held by Ngati Mutunga at Kumutoto (Lambton Quay) in Te Aro, while Ngati Tama met at Raurimu (Thorndon). There was a ship named Rodney at Wellington. The Maori decided on the spot to sail the ship to Matiu [Soames Island]. When they got there they seized the ship and ordered the captain to take them to the Chathams. The mate, Ferguson, was held hostage by the Maori so that the ship would return with the remaining Maori. The Maori landed the ship first at Whangaroa. At their facial grimaces, the protruding of their tongues, the striking of their heads, the prancing of their feet, and the quivering of their weapons, the Moriori were afraid and fled with their hands raised. The land was plundered and the people enslaved. The Maori behaved atrociously. If a person did not work hard enough he was killed. If someone wanted a woman her husband was killed. It is said that for no reason at all 59 Moriori were cooked in a hangi at Te Raki. For transgressing tapu Ngati Tama put to death their Moriori slaves – men women and children, who were lined up on the beach at Waitangi. The Maori on the second sailing did not get land; by the time they arrived it had all been taken by the first party. However, they stayed, though some migrated to an island to the south of New Zealand, known to the Pakeha as the Auckland Islands but perhaps now known to the Maori as Mangaahuka. This was the island said by Te Pipi last year to be a graveyard for ships. Maori no longer live there and it has been taken over by the Government and leased to a Pakeha.

One of the principal chiefs who conquered the Moriori was Pomare whose close relatives live at Porirua. In the [Land Court] adjudication on the Chathams the Government set aside 4,100 acres for them [the Moriori], all of it good land. The Moriori are doing well. They have many sheep. One of the fine houses I saw on the Chathams belonged to a halfe-caste Moriori. There are eight full Moriori still living but it is clear that before long they will have disappeared from the face of the earth. Their names are:

Te Ropiha (m) 90 years old perhaps,

Riwai Ropiha (m) 55

Wi Hoeta (m) 72

Nga Wheua (f) 62

Nga Mare (f) 48

Hapurona Pawa (m) 50

Horomona Rangitapua (m) 45

Tame Rangitapua (m) 22

Not one of these Moriori are married to Moriori; Tame Rangitapua is the youngest of them and [8] because there is no Moriori girl to be his wife he is married to a half-caste Maori. So it is clear that the Moriori people will soon disappear. When Wi Hoeta was nine he became blind and from that time [?ka titiro noa iho a e titiro mai nei]; there was no medicine to cure him. May God bless and be kind to the Moriori.

(To be continued.)

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC PETITION

We have seen a petition, rather, some petitions from the Roman Catholic Church, from some Catholics. They were printed in Otaki. The first of these petitions is from the Catholics and the second from all the Maori in support of the Catholic petition. We have not heard that Maori are eager to sign this petition and thoughtful people are not signing. This initiative is troubling; it is an attack on the large Maori schools.

These are the main statements in these petitions:

(1) That Catholic children who are sent [?titikatia] to the aforementioned schools (Te Aute, St Stephens, Victoria and Turakina) and children who are sent to Government Native Schools, should be free and not be compelled to attend services using rites different from those of their own Church. Also, they should not be taught the practices and the teachings of another Church while they are living as students at the above schools.

(2) That the standards of attainment available in our Government Native Schools in our areas should be raised to standard six or standard seven.

The important thing about these petitions is that they will cause trouble and division amongst the children living at these schools. Would it be possible to send the Catholic child out of the room or the building every time there is prayer or the Scriptures are being taught? The character of the school would be divided, the running of the school would be divided between the Schoolmaster and the Roman Catholic Church. The school will not grow if there are several authorities. The schools in the petition are like a single family, and it would be a bad thing to have one rule for one and a different one for another. The appropriate thing for the Roman Catholics, if they are afraid that their children will worship or learn the Scriptures, is not to send their children to these schools but to send them to their own schools. This petition says that the children of other churches attending Roman Catholic schools ‘do not have the practices of the Roman Catholic Church forced upon them.’ We believe this is a fabrication. If a boy goes to a Roman Catholic School there is nothing wrong with him being taught the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church; after all, he went there. And if Roman Catholic children go to the schools of other Churches it is right that they are taught their practices. But how many Roman Catholic children are attending these schools which they are petitioning? In the many years I lived at Te Aute I only knew of one Roman Catholic pupil and he is still a Catholic. If this petition is agreed to, who is going to implement it, who is going to monitor it? The Roman Catholics are not going to petition that the teaching the faith be stopped in these schools. But what power does Parliament have over these schools? It would be difficult for it to direct that this is what they should do and not that. And what are the teachings of other Churches that the Church of Rome fears having taught to their children? The right petition for the Maori People is to ask for our children to be taught technical skills. We have nothing to say about the second part of this petition.

MEMORIAL STONES

By Matene Keepa.

A hui was held at Rotorua on 10th March. The purpose of this hui was the unveiling of the memorial stones to Te Keepa Te Rangipuawhe and Petera Te Pukuatua, guides and chiefs on this canoe, Te Arawa. Many people came to this hui. All the hapu of Te Arawa attended and some of the tribes from outside. The Prime Minister, his wife and family, attended with the Honourable Timi Kara. Both the stones were unveiled the same day. The stone unveiled in the morning was that of Te Keepa at Te Whakarewarewa. It stands on a hill. It has obviously been put there so that the patches of mist on the mountains can be seen. In the evening it was that of Petera. It stands outside the house of his ancestor, Tamatekapua, at Ohinemutu. One’s eyes filled with tears on seeing the stone, it was so light and good to look at.

[9] On the Saturday morning people began to arrive at Te Whakarewarewa right up to the time set for the unveiling of the stone, 10 o’clock. Maori and also Pakeha came. At half-past ten the Prime Minister and Timi Kara arrived in Whakarewarewa. They were welcomed and taken to the place where the stone had been erected. When the Prime Minister arrived at the site of the stone, the children of the Te Whakarewarewa Sunday School sang a hymn and Rev Peneti led the prayer, after which the Prime Minister spoke. In the Prime Minister’s speech he was full of praise for this elder, for all the good things he achieved during his life, for his courage in standing up for his mana, and for his loyalty to the Queen. Let us hold on to the good works of our chiefly elders who have departed in memory of them and as an example of what we are to do after them, both Maori and Pakeha. Te Keepa was born at Motutawa Rotokakahi in 1826. He was 79. For some years he was a teacher for the ministers, Revs. Chapman, Brown and [?Te Peneha]. As an elder his bravery and courage was seen when he upheld the authority of the Queen in the time of the past wars, and he gained the military commission of Major of New Zealand Militia. He has one son, Maika Te Keepa. The Prime Minister took the rope and pulled off the veil and urged people to celebrate, taking off their hats. Then was seen the inscription on the stone. It says:

‘A sign of love for Te Keepa Rangipuawhe, the head of Tuhourangi, a chief of Te Arawa, a Major of the New Zealand Militia. He was born in 1826 and died on 27th June, 1905. He was a guide to his people, a faithful son of the Church of England, he supported Pakeha practices and also honoured the Government.’

On one side of the stone are these words: ‘His instructions to his tribe were to hold on to the faith. Do not weep for me but weep for yourselves and your children.’ Luke 23.28.

The Prime Minister spoke at length for almost an hour and a half. After his speech, the Honourable Timi Kara spoke, saying, ‘Let the good works that Te Keepa did and bequeathed to you be an example, something that we should seek after. He achieved good things for his people and also for the Pakeha. So let the Maori People and the Pakeha People go forward together as the Maori People seek to improve their lands. And be committed to sending the children to school to get learning and not just so that they know the English language but to learn the technical skills of the Pakeha such as carpentry, agriculture and other Pakeha skills. We Maori are afflicted by three major things: first, laziness, secondly, a lack of goods, and thirdly, drunkenness. If we can abandon these three paths, then it will be easy for us to do better things than these. At the end of Timi Kara’s slot, Tuhourangi sang Te Keepa’s waiata. Here the activities at the stone ended. People went to eat (dinner) but most of the people went to see the bubbling up of the geyser (Wairoa Geyser). When everything to do with Te Keepa’s stone was concluded everyone went to Ohinemutu to see the unveiling of Petera’s stone. The time set for the unveiling was two o’clock in the afternoon.

Just before two o’clock the people arrived, and just as at Whakarewarewa both Maori and Pakeha came. When the Prime Minister and the others arrived they were welcomed. The marae was fine and large. So too were the ranks of men and women who welcomed their visitors and led them to the stone. When the visitors got to the stone the hymn ‘Our heads are bowed’ was sung. Rev Peneti led it and also the prayers. Then the Prime Minister spoke. In the Prime Minister’s speech he praised this elder and also mentioned the descent of Petera from Hinemoa and Tutanekai. Then the Prime Minister directed words of thanks to the whole tribe. The Prime Minister also spoke of the situation of the Maori, particularly of some of their food-producing activities which had been taken away by the strong hand of the law of the Pakeha. There are the lakes and rivers where Maori can no longer foster their main foods which have been replaced by the new foods of the Pakeha in the lakes and rivers and Pakeha have prevented Maori hands from stretching out to catch those new foods – if they get a licence they can. I asked myself, why Maori hands should be stopped by the Pakeha saying we need licences. The lakes and rivers belong to the Maori. Do the provisions of the Treaty of Waitangi [10] which was authorised by Queen Victoria say that Maori have authority over their rivers and lakes? So this is an important thing to think about. (That was the extent of the Prime Minister’s remarks about the lakes and rivers.} Then Pirimi Mataiawhea, taking the Prime Minister to Petera’s stone asked him to unveil it and the Prime Minister took hold of the rope. When the veil was withdrawn one could see the inscription on the stone. This is the wording.

‘In memory of Petera Tukino te Pukuatua, who died at Manakau on 2nd February, 1905, at the age of 86. Through the love of his tribe his body was brought to Te Papaiouru to rest. He was one of those leading chiefs of Te Arawa who paddled this canoe under the shelter of Queen Victoria. It was not overturned by the violent winds which blew here in Aotearoa in 1863. He supported the Government which was established by his ancestors at the Kohimarama Hui in 1860. He belonged to the Church of Rome.’

The Prime Minister asked us to celebrate these people and to take off our hats. The Prime Minister spoke for almost an hour and a quarter.

At the conclusion of the activities around the stone people gathered in front of Tamatekapua where the topic was the running of councils. Peneti was the spokesman on the matters which were brought to the attention of the Prime Minister. The person who translated the Prime Minister’s remarks into Maori from beginning to end was Captain Mair. In the late evening people ate, and there were many people. The number of people who attended this hui was 5000, both Maori and Pakeha. The number of Maori alone was 700. (The numbers are from the Auckland Star Newspaper.)

THE ASSOCIATION

To the Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa.

My friend, greetings to you and the bird. I and some of my people in Taranaki hear the singing of your bird but I do not see it. The voice flies to the Pakeha newspapers and so we see the bird’s speeches and our hearts are truly enlightened. May all the tribes strongly demand the Association so that we can seek the way forward for our remaining lands which are simply being taken away by the Government. My friends, stir things up, get together, and seek members to run our Association which is our great treasure, so that we can think and hope and speak as one. If this idea of mine and of those of our tribes which are committed to the Association, comes about, we shall get great benefits. My criticism of our members who have been elected by us to Parliament is this: they are not in agreement, they engage in fighting and division and animosity amongst themselves. They are like the old song, [?‘Tuke Maana. Tuke a Kapiti’]. This is how they appear. ‘Kaihau is at Maana and it is his alone, while Wi Heke Parata has Kapiti (Government).’ Do not support all the laws which spell death to us, the whole people. If they shared the same ideas then they would not vote for laws which cause suffering and the Governor would not authorize their passing if he saw that the Maori members had all voted the same way. From that the Governor would know that that was the will of the people because the Maori members had voted against the bill. Now Apirana Ngata has been elected. He is a learned man who understands the provisions or the laws. He is a man who knows well the good and bad aspects of laws which pertain to Maori. So, Editor, when the Association is set up we will be there. The basis of the work of Te Whiti was the Treaty of Waitangi Association. So we have the idea of Te Whiti and all his hapu that we should be one in speech and action, in putting forward ideas, and in living well. Best wishes to you.

Rangi Takei.

Angatahua,

January 26th, 1906.

[11] LAND SETTLEMENT ACT

Translated into Maori from The Hawkes Bay Herald.

[Copies of the Herald after 1904 are at present unavailable on Papers Past and I have made a back-translation. – Barry Olsen.]

Editor, greetings. Because I have studied this law, allow me to write to your paper. I shall not write at length since it is only the settlement of the land that our law makers desire – and this is the main object put forth – and fulfilling this wish through the leasing provisions of the law. So why was a provision inserted to empower the Government to confiscate the land by way of sale? I strongly disagree with this provision and I have my reasons. Perhaps because I am Maori I am extremely sad at heart at the wickedness of this law; it is worse even than the laws our elderly women made. They think that the Maori have the same knowledge as the Pakeha and so they treat them the same. But the Maori who has land is an ignorant person. He still retains his ignorance because for many years his mind and his body were not active. His education was not the same as that of the Pakeha and so he was not able to contend with the Pakeha. He was not like the Pakeha in caring for his land. [?Ko tana utu mo te whenua kei runga i tona mate i tona ora ranei.] While the Maori lived he took what the land raised even though it did not amount to much, but if he was very poor he got very little recompense. From this, one can appreciate his ignorance when it came to making money. And if a Maori wanted money he did not think of increasing his money by getting interest, rather he saw his money as something to be consumed. This is why I said that the clause about selling is very wrong; it is not appropriate for this time and we must wait for a generation when people will not make mistakes.

But for this time the good thing for the Government to do is to implement clause 19 first. It says that the Boards are able to take lands for leasing so that those lands can be settled. I totally agree with this section of the Act. These sections are very good and will benefit both Maori and Pakeha.

Before I end my words I want to say something about Section 25 which says that a piece of land must not be sold for a price below the value of that land. Maori will also suffer because of this section. The Maori is not like the Pakeha in striving to get the right price for his land; because he is ignorant he will not use his money to employ the wisdom of other people. We have seen many times that the value of land was not right. If the Government’s valuation of Maori land is low, how will Maori know? I speak about most Maori. I say that they will not know. If you look carefully at the ways this law wrongs Maori then you will agree with my contention. It is wrong to put the clause about sale into this law because it is clear that the provisions for leasing will achieve what the Colony requires which is the opening up of the land for settlement. Leasing is for the good of all, Maori and Pakeha. However leasing has been spoiled by the provisions for selling and what would have been good for Maori has been turned into something hurtful, and that is not right. In the time when the Maori was strong he lived well, and he did not keep his right hand from assisting in cutting off his left hand, and giving away his land to the Pakeha he found himself without power and without land. Now, since the situation has changed it is seen as being for the better and the change is welcomed by Maori because the Government has power while the Maori has no power. The Maori will not be able to hold on to his lands when he hears the rustle of notes in his ears. Cut out the provision for sale and save the Maori. If the Maori are well then the Colony will also be well without anything oppressing it.

Raniera Erihana.

Te Aute.

[12] CALENDAR : APRIL 1906

Day 9 ○ 5h 42n p.m. Day 24 ● 3h 37m p.m.

1 S Fifth Sunday of Lent

Morning Evening

Exodus 3 Exodus 5

Luke 5.1-17 2 Corinthians 5

2 M

3 T

4 W

5 Th

6 F

7 S

8 S Sixth Sunday of Lent

Exodus 9 Exodus 10

Matthew 26 Luke 19.1-28

9 M Monday before Easter

Lamentations 1.1-15 Lamentations 2.1-13

John 14.1-15 John 14.1-15

10 T Tuesday before Easter

Lamentations 3.1-34 Lamentations 3.1-34

John 15.1-14 John 15.1-14

11 W Wednesday before Easter

Lamentations 4.1-21 Daniel 9.1-20

John 16.1-16 John 16.1-16

12 Th Thursday before Easter

Hosea 13.1-15 Hosea 14

John 17 John 13.1-36

13 F Good Friday

Psalms: Morning 22, 40, 54 Evening 69, 85

Genesis 22.1-20 Isaiah 52.13 & 53

John 18 1 Peter 2

14 S Easter Eve Vigil

Zechariah 2 Hosea 5.8 & 6.1-4

Luke 23.1-50 Romans 6.1-14

15 S Easter Day

Psalms: Morning 2, 57, 111 Evening 113, 114. 118

Athanasian Creed

Exodus 12.1-29 Exodus 12.1-29

Revelation 1.10-19 John 20.11-19

16 M Easter Monday

Exodus 15.1-22 Wisdom 2.1-10

Luke 24.1-13 Matthew 28.1-10

17 T Easter Tuesday

2 Kings 13.14-22 Ezekiel 37.1-15

John 21.1-15 John 21.1-15

18 W

19 Th

20 F Fast

21 S

22 S First Sunday after Easter

Numbers 16.1-36 Numbers 16.1-36

1 Corinthians 15.1-29 John 20.24-30

23 M

24 T

25 W Mark, Evangelist

Isaiah 62.1-16 Ezekiel 1.1-15

Luke 18.31 – 19.11 Philippians 2

26 Th

27 F Fast

28 S

29 S Second Sunday after Easter

Numbers 20.1-14 Numbers 20.14 – 21.10

Luke 20.27 – 21.5 Colossians 1.21-28

20 M

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