ALLEGED ASSAULT. MAORI AND CHINESE.

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ALLEGED ASSAULT. MAORI AND CHINESE. ACCUSED REMANDED. Monte Grace (24), a Maori labourer appeared at the Police Court this morning following his arrest an two charges of assaulting Ah Chung and Ah Lpk at Avondale on Saturday. As witnesses were not in attendance, Sub-Inspector McCarthy obtained a remand until Thursday next. Bail, £10. was allowed. Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 189, 12 August 1929, Page 9

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"BRUTALLY ASSAULTED." CHINESE AND MAORI, NATIVE FINED A POUND,

A. Maori, Monte Grace, who was charged in the Police Court this morning with assaulting two Chinese at Avondale, was fined £1 by Mr. F: lv. Hunt, S;M.

Outlining the case, Sub:lnspector Mc- Carthy said that the two Chinese were bringing some vegetables'into town on a lorry when the assault took plane. It appeared that the accused had been given a lift into Avondale, and, when told to get off the vegetables, the assault, a serious one, was committed. Evidence was given by a 1 constable, who said that one of the Chinese had both his eyes bunged up and certainly looked as if he had been knocked about, Accused had said that the Chinese had assaulted.him first and that he was defending himself, but a woman gave evidence that the Chinese had been baldly assaulted, and had cried out: "Murder! Murder!" Counsel for Grace said that if the Chinese had not thrown water and turnips at accused the trouble would not have developed. It had eventually become a two sided battle. One of the Chinese had started all the trouble.

The magistrate said he was satisfied that the Chinaman hadbeen brutally assaulted "If you fellows don't keep away from these Chinamen, I will send you to.gaol his Worship added. Accused was convicted. and fined £1 on the first charge apd convicted and discharged on the second. Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 192, 15 August 1929, Page 10

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MAORI FINED. CHEQUE STOLEN AT TUAKAU. (From Our Own Correspondent.)
PUKEKOHE, Wednesday.
Charged with the theft of a cheque valued at £3, the property of a carrier, Harry Whitford, a Maori, Kohi Kani, aged 31, of Te Kohanga, appeared before Messrs. C. K. Lawrie and F. Perkins, J.P.'s, in the Pukekolie Court yesterday. He pleaded guilty.
Sergeant J. T. Cowan said that Whitford handed the cheque to another carrier to take into Tuakau. The accused saw the carrier place the cheque in a notebook which was left in the cab of the motor truck. He took the cheque and cashed it with a Chinese butcher of Otahuhu, but in the meantime payment had been stopped and the Chinese butcher lost that amount. When interviewed by the Tuakau police,the accused admitted the theft.
Accused was convicted and fined £1 and ordered to pay costs amounting to 8/11. He was also ordered to make restitution of the £3 to the Chinese butcher. Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 61, 12 March 1936, Page 18

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SOCIAL PROBLEM CHINESE AND MAORI GIRLS NEED FOR LEGISLATION
(By Telegraph.) (Special to "The Evening Post.")
AUCKLAND, This Day. Further discussion on the Asiatic problem arising from the employment of Maori girls in Chinese gardens took place at a. conference between representatives of the Akarana Maori Association and Mr. Parvin, of the White New Zealand League. The subject was considered in its wider aspects. It was pointed out that Now Zealand had an increasingly large Asiatic element, who, having become permanent residents, were marrying Maori women and whites, whose children, being halfcastes, were accentuating the social problem, which would become far* more serious if not dealt with now. Regarding the employment of Maori girls, it was felt that the only remedy for this sinister development was definite legislation prohibiting the employment of womenfolk by Asiatics. One speaker remarked that the suggested demand for better conditions for such workers was missing the point. Nothing less than a lawful ban on the employment of females would effectively meet the situation.
That Chinese who left the country should not be permitted to return was also suggested as a means to reduce this foreign element. Some of these people who went to their own country did not return, but gave their passports to other Chinese, who thus got into the country under false pretences. The difficulty was identification, and it was thought a good finger-print system would check this imposition. Mr. Pan-in will travel to Wellington to-day, where he will confer with the Maori members of Parliament and Ministers of the Departments concerned, Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 19, 22 July 1929, Page 8


MAORI WOMEN EMPLOYED BY CHINESE REPORTS EXAGGERATED
(By Telegraph.— Press Association.) CAMBEIDGE, This day The Rev. A. ,T. Seamer, superintendent of the Methodist Maori Missions throughout New Zealand, who is visiting Cambridge, in an interview declared that many of the reports circulated regarding the mixing of Maori women with Asiatics, particularly Chinese, were grossly exaggerated. The evil, such as it was, arose through economic causes. Times had been hard, and Maori women were glad to take employment. Market gardeners wore also glad to have their services, as Maori women were usually more efficient than men. Only one social worker was engaged amongst these women. It was an absolute libel to say that Maori women were more immoral than their sisters working in. the cities, or that they wero subjected to greater temptations. However, the housing c'onilitions were bad, though not worse than those endured by the Maoris working periodically for potato growers and others. In regard to the wider question of Asiatics in the Dominion, Mr. Seamer said that the mission objected strongly to male Asiatics being domiciled here unless they brought wives of their own race with them. Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 94, 17 October 1929, Page 10


MAORIS AND CHINESE. EXAGGERATED REPORTS. REMARKS BY SOCIAL WORKERS
Sister Ivy Jones, organiser of the Maori Giris' Club, yesterday supported the contention of the' superintendent of the Methodist Maori the Rev. A. J. Seaiuer, that there had been exaggeration in many reports dealing with Maori women and Asiatics,
Sister Jones has been associated with social work among Maori women for two years. Under the support of the Methodist Church, with her headquarters in Auckland, she covers the area between Helensville and Tuakau, which includes nearly all the Maori settlements near Auekland.
When Mr. Seamer made his statement the Akarana Maori Association replied by questioning whether Mr. Seamer had a grasp of the true position.
"I would like to say that I agree with the sentiments expressed by Mr. Seamer," remarked Sister Jones. "The sweeping assertions that have been made have been very unfair to certain fine Maori women working in "Chinese garden —unfair also, no doubt, to some of their employers. I find that these exaggerated statements have done real harm, and injured some very good people. The issue which Mr Seamer took up was not the exact number" of Maoris employed by Chinese gardeners, but the reason for, and the results of such employment. I claim that immoral relationships are not as common as inferred. I agree with Mr. Seamer that Maori women are employed because they save efficient workers, and their services can be secured at a small wage.
"That a social evil does exist is beyond dispute, and Mr. Seamer was the first to recognise that fact. It was he who w T as directly responsible for practical efforts made in the past to combat it. Mr. Seamer and his workers were dealing with the matter before the Akarana Association took it up. The Maoris hide no s ecrets from him in social matters, and he controls a chain of social organisations throughout the greater part of the Maori districts, while his workers report regularly and refer their difficult cases to him. Scarcely a day passes but Mr. Seamer interviews Maori people, and when necessary he sends Maori girls back to their homes.
"Knowing something of the wonderful contact he has with the Maori people, it is strange to read a statement that he is not in personal touch with these matters," said Sister Jones. "Whether one agrees with his opinion or not, it must be admitted that his opinion is that of an expert in close touch with all phases of Maori life." Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 255, 28 October 1929, Page 15

LURE OF THE CITY. MAORI-ASIATIC PROBLEM. EMPLOYMENT IN GARDENS. REGULATIONS NOT ENFORCED.
The Maoris have tasted the fruits of the pakeha civilisation, and they feel that they cannot go back to their villages," said Mr. J. Rukutai, chairman of the Akarana Maori Association, when asked to comment on the reported destitution amongst Maori woman and girls. "Every effort is now being made, under the scheme of the Native Minister, to induce the Maoris to go back, to the land, but I am afraid that only a very small proportion of our people will respond." Mr. Rukutai said the Government had appointed a special committee close on two years ago to investigate the conditions under which Maoris were employed by Asiatics in market gardens. As a result, special regulations were framed on the lines of the committee's report, which recommended: —Strict control of living conditions in market gardens; prohibition of the employment of Maori females under 21 years of age in gardens controlled by Asiatics; provision of a minimum wage for all time workers, and suitable control over piecework agreements. Chinese Also Protest. "Had the regulations been enforced, there would be very few Maori women working in the vegetable gardens," said Mr. Rukutai. "The girls would have been forced out of the work they had taken up, and I cannot understand the Government's inaction. I suppose it was on account .of the change of Government and other things. The conditions existing should not be tolerated. We have had representations made to our association by educated Chinese of high standing "in the community asking us 'to clean things up' in the interests of the young Chinese themselves. The better class of Chinese does not want to see a continuation of present conditions. The enforcement of the regulations would have seen a number of the Maoris back at their villages growing potatoes, for they are not all landless. "At least 90 per cent of the Maoris that arc in Auckland are from the country. We know the position is' grave, and we do not desire to see the growth of a mongrel race —half Maori and half Asiatic. I don't know why the Chinese are allowed into the country. The intermingling of the Maori race with the pakeha is not so bad, but the introduction of Asiatic blood leaves an unpleasant taste. I have nothing to say against the Asiatic personally. He is a very fine man in his own country." Woman Decoy Used. Another Maori authority stated that the conditions were bad at the Chinese gardens. He expressed great concern as to the future of some of the women. Investigations had been made concerning a Maori, woman who had been used as a decoy to go into the villages and lure young girls to the city to work in the Chinese cultivations. "We traced her activities and were able to stop her, but not before she had done some harm." He quoted another case of a Maori woman who made a habit of bragging that she was the wife of a Chinese, the mother-in-law of a Chinese, and that she had a Chinese grandchild. "What can you do in a case like that?" he added. Committee's Report. The special committee that reported to the House of Representatives during the 1929 session comprised Dr. Hughes, Medical Officer of Health at Auckland, Mr. W. Slaughter, officer in charge of the Labour Department, Auckland, and Mr. Tukerete Anga, of the Native Department. Their investigations were assisted by Dr. Ellison, Director of Maori Hygiene. It was found that in fifty Chinese gardens inspected in the Auckland district seven females and four male Maoris were employed, while at Pukckohe the number in the busy season reached fifty. The committee declared that at Pukekohe the accommodation provided for the Maoris was disgraceful. Overcrowding was prevalent, and sanitary accommodation was most primitive. The general health of the Maoris was good, but living conditions had a degrading effect. The general standard nowadays set by Maoris was much higher than the standard of then- Hindu and Chinese employers. Forty-five Half-caste Children. The committee had great difficulty in ascertaining definite facts regarding Maori women living with Chinese, and expressed regret that the Commissioner of Police refused to allow his officers to provide information in their possession. The Akarana Maori Association produced figures showing that 45 half-cast children had been born to 27 Maori girl by Chinese in three years, and that 17 other girls had returned to their homes in trouble. There were evidences of such associations at Otaki, and what was called "a distinct drift" at Wanganui and Foxton. The committee stated that a more permanent solution of the difficulties could be provided by the education of the Maori with an agricultural bias, the speeding up of the consolidation of Maori land interests, the setting aside of areas for farmlets, the revival of Maori arts and crafts, and arrangements for marketing the output, and a domestic training for Maori girls. Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 137, 12 June 1931, Page 5

ASIATICS AND MAORIS. REPORT BY COMMISSION. "MORE THAN JUSTIFIED." WISE EMPLOYMENT PROVISION. CHINESE SHOULD CO-OPERATE. The full report of the Committee of Inquiry which recently investigated the social and other aspects of the conditions brought about by the employment of Maori females by Asiatics is not yet to hand, but the Akarana Maori Association officials view with satisfaction the information contained in the abstracts published, and feel that the action taken by the association has been more than justified. The president of the association remarked to-day that the outstanding feature was the prohibition recommendation respecting the employment of Maori women under 21 years of age. "The position as defined by the committee," he added, "gives the Chinese community an opportunity to co-operate with the authorities in regard to accommodation, wages, hours and general conditions. Observance of these regulations will do much to eliminate the undoubted objectionable environments which all true wellwishers of the Maori race desired to have removed. While the association sought the total prohibition of Maori women employment and the more stringent control of Asiatic immigration, it realises the difficulty of immediately bringing such measures into existence. The proposals, we hope, will tend in that direction, however. I may say that the Maoris have no racial objection to the Asiatics as a people, but strongly resent the associating of an inferior type of Chinese with young native women. We will await the full report before further discussing the matter." Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 266, 9 November 1929, Page 10

"MENACE TO THE RACE." A RECRUITING CAMPAIGN. ASSOCIATION MAKES PEOTEST.
''If the same number of white girls had been living with Chinese there would be a revolution," said one of the officers of the Akarana Maori Association this morning when discussing the serious position which has arisen through the large number of Maori girls working and living on Chinese market gardens. "At the present time there are known to be 54 Maori girls employed by Chinese, and during the past two years probably 100 have been so employed. We have proof that a recruiting campaign has been going on to bring girls in from the country. Unfortunately the go-betweens have been two unscrupulous Maori women who have been going into the settlements inducing the girls to come into town.
"When the practice first started the ostensible call was for labour, but when young Maori men offered for the positions they were told that men were not wanted; it was girls. The association has definite proof of the unfortunate effects of this undesirable cohabitation of the girls and the Chinese, and if it assumes larger proportions I do not know what is going to happen. You can imagine what sort of stock it would mean—Asiatic and Maori. It is no good for the Maori, and it is also no good for the European. The Asiatic admixture is highly undesirable. It will be a potent one, ana perhaps when it is too late the European population of Auckland and the vicinity will realise what a fatal mistake it was not .to prevent the Maori girls being degraded." Cause and Cure. When members of the association were spoken to concerning the present undesirable state of affairs, they agreed it was most deplorable, but frankly admitted that a solution was rather difficult to find. The trouble was that Maori girls from the out-districts once they had come to town and tasted the pleasures and excitement of town amusements were loath to go back to the kainga. They learned that they could get "employment" on the Chinese gardens, and they drifted into that kind of life. One suggested solution was that Parliament should legislate in the direction of requiring separate accommodation for female labour employed on Chinese gardens, stated hours, and other restrictions which would make it unprofitable for the Chinese to engage women. Another suggestion was that female labour on Chinese gardens should be absolutely prohibited. It was all bunkum to say that the Maori girls were employed because there was a shortage of male labour. Anyone could see that was not the reason.
A Practical Step. The question came up for discussion at a largely attended meeting of the Akarana Maori Association held last evening, and as a definite practical step towards meeting the case it was decided to perfect arrangements to form a social organisation in Auckland, which should provide the Maori girls with somewhere to stay when in town,-and also with rational amusement. It was recognised that the reason why many girls took up the garden work was to get money to spend on amusements. It was hoped by providing sensible, healthy, social entertainments for the girls the association would be doing something practical to grapple with what threatened to be a great evil. "The menace is there," said one of the officials this morning. "We are afraid that it may be like the little brown speck on the apple; it does not appear very large at first, but in time it will destroy the whole fruit..Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 169, 19 July 1929, Page 9