Walsh. — The Passing of the Maori. 161 



practically a thing of the past, and in most districts a drunken 

 Maori is the exception rather than the rule. Still, the evil was 

 done, not to be undone ; and its efiect — especially on the children 

 begotten and reared under the conditions described — is incal- 

 culable. 



Change op Habits. 



The partial adoption of European customs and modes of 

 living largely contributed to the decay of the Maori, and that 

 which under other conditions might have been a blessing has 

 only proved a curse. This is nowhere more apparent than in the 

 case of their housing and clothing. It might appear at first 

 sight that a dwelling built in European style — well lighted, 

 floored, and properly ventilated — would be more conducive to 

 health than the dark, smoky whare — hermetically sealed when 

 the door was shut — in which the inmates slept on mats spread 

 on the ground around a smouldering fire. The same comparison 

 might be made between a comfortable suit of European clothes 

 and the scanty waist-mat which hardly covered their nakedness 

 — supplemented in wet weather by a clumsy rain-cloak which 

 might keep the wearer dry, but scarcely kept out the cold. 

 The converse is really the case. The whare was usually built 

 on the sunny side of a hill, in a situation both airy and dry, 

 and it was sheltered from cold blasts by the palisading of the 

 pa. If the weather was damp or chilly, a handful of embers 

 would raise the temperature to any desired degree. There was 

 no trouble about wet clothes or insufficient blankets, and the 

 double or triple coating of raupo which covered the walls effectu- 

 ally kept out the draughts, while if ventilation were needed 

 the sliding door had only to be pushed back. Little incon- 

 venience would be caused by the cramped dimensions of the 

 domicile, as the whare was simply a sleeping-apartment, the 

 porch formed by the projecting gable being used as the sitting- 

 room, while the cooking and eating were carried on in a separate 

 building, or, if the weather were fine, in the open air. The 

 European style of dwelling would be very well if the Maori 

 were able to live up to it ; but, with the exception of the more 

 fortunate Natives about the east coast who derive an income 

 from the rent of their lands, and a very small percentage scattered 

 throughout the country who have been able to adapt them- 

 selves to the new conditions, the Maori's attempt to live like 

 the pakeha is generally a failure. In the first place, the house 

 is usually in a bad situation. For convenience — to be near the 

 cultivation — it is often built on the low ground, probably in the 

 vicinity of a swamp full of stagnant water and decaying vegetable 

 matter. Then, it is seldom finished. It is a bare shell of weather- 

 6— Trans. 



