Te Kopara 33
[3] Te Kopara, Number 33, Gisborne, 15 July, 1916.
‘Iti te Kopara, kai takirikiri ana i runga i te Kahikatea.’
Although the Bellbird is small, he plucks at the Kahikatea. [cf Nga Pepeha 908]
THE GREAT WAR
In the June edition of Te Kopara we spoke of the great war in which the enemy is invisible. The enemy is Satan who seeks to get all people as his slaves and to abandon God who made us, so that we become God’s enemies, until we come to that time when Satan will be cast down by God and we will enter with him into the oblivion in which he will be done away with.
The commander in this war against this wicked enemy is our Lord Jesus Christ who has enlisted us at our baptisms as ‘his faithful soldiers and servants’ to fight continually under his banner against the devil, against the ‘vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, and the sinful desires of the flesh.’ There are some works of the devil, said to be works characteristic of him, which are mentioned in Scripture. These are arrogance (1 Timothy 3.6); jealousy (1 John 2.12 sic), lying (John 8.44), and tempting people (1 Thessalonians 3.5) which is drawing people to do things that are not right. When it is said that the world and the flesh are enemies like the devil, it is not saying that the things of the world that God has given for people, things intended to sweeten their lives in the world, are bad; nor is the stirring up of our bodily desires when they are not permitted to express themselves in ways otherwise than God intended; for according to the Creator these are things intended for the well-being of the body and for the increase of mankind on the earth. But the enemy distorts these good things given by God so that people do wrong. He continually strives to get people fixated on physical things, things that people do for their well-being, things that give pleasure, on the many, many things that lead people to forget the commandments of our Lord, in an effort to increase their possessions and other things, so that they have no time to turn to the works of the Lord whom they are to serve as soldiers, to spiritual things. One of the works of that crafty enemy is to stir up bodily desires so that people’s thoughts are directed towards them and they disobey the law God has laid down.
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We are familiar with Christ’s parable about the seed sown among brambles. When the seed grew, the brambles grew up with it and choked the good seed so that it did not bear fruit.
It is said that all such things are to test people. On Satan’s part they are designed to make people fall into his clutches, but on God’s part they are intended to strengthen their reliance on the Spirit of God which has been given to strengthen them and enable them to defeat the enemy.
Our example in our battle is our Lord Jesus Christ who was also tempted like us (Hebrews 4.15) but the devil could find no place in him (John 14.30). In our baptisms we became one with him so that his life becomes our life and the strength with which he overcame the devil is also our strength by which we can trample down all the power of the enemy (Luke 10.19). But many forget what happened at their baptisms. They forget the Holy Spirit which the Bishop prayed would come upon them at their confirmation and who will still come if we pray for him. He it is who [?tautauā] people for this battle. If our thoughts are continually fixed on our prize, if we trust in the Lord whose battle it is, we will be able to say with Paul, ‘Thanks be to God who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (1 Corinthians 15.57).
W[illiam] L[eonard] W[illiams]
LETTERS RECEIVED.
To the Editor of Te Kopara.
Greetings. Here is a copy of my letter in reply to the letter of Hatara Te Awarau to me in which he criticised me and Te Rangihiroa. I would like you to print this letter in your paper for people to see so that they can be assured that it was not Te Rangihiroa and I who abused the Maori People. There may be other Maori who think the same as Hatara Te Awarau. The letter deal with the matters discussed. If you would like the letter sent to Hatara I will send it.
Captain H Te Wainohu.
To Hatara Te Awarau.
My friend, greetings to you, but also to all the people there at home. Greetings to you and to those people who are upset with the two of us over the splitting up of the Maori Contingent amongst the Pakeha divisions.
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You have elevated the two of us in your statement in which you say that the two of us agreed to that proposal and in which you placed us in the ranks of the generals who make the plans for each division. Perhaps it is only the people who have this concept of things, because you are a soldier and understand how soldiers go about things. You will also appreciate that we can only express our own opinions if we have not signed up as soldiers. But as soldiers our status is that we are completely under the authority of our Colonel, and the Colonel is under the authority of General [Rahera - ?Rachel] who is under General Godley, for General Godley is the man set by the Government of New Zealand over all New Zealand soldiers. You will also appreciate that the generals alone have the power to make plans affecting the companies under them. So it is for the officers to carry out the commands they receive just as the soldiers fulfil the orders the officers give them. This is the rule for all armies: the first duty of a soldier is to obey orders. The Maori Contingent was not set apart from all the divisions and given different rules. As for the matters you mention:
1. You say that initially it was arranged that there be two sections of the Maori Contingent, one going to Samoa and the other to Egypt, but at the request of the people they were kept together. Why should it be different now?
The proper procedure would be to address your question to General Godley because he gave the order that it should be so. But since you are passing judgement on the two of us and General [Rahera - ?Rachel] has given us permission to answer your letter we are writing these few words.
You were at Gallipoli when the Maori Contingent was split up and when Te Rangihiroa and I went to General [Rahera - ?Rachel] and on one occasion to General Godley. We requested that we be not split up. General Godley said that he was dividing the Maori between the four sections of the Pakeha Infantry Brigade. He said that it was his wish that the Maori and the Pakeha fight alongside each other and he thought that by doing so it would benefit the New Zealand soldiers. Although they were divided up the Maori Platoon would retain its identity within each Pakeha section. So we were split up because of the decision of the ultimate authority. My friend, Ha, you and the people might argue with him, the two of us cannot. In Egypt the matter was raised in February 1916 and Te Rangihiroa and I, along with Major Hawkins, Chaplain of the Second Contingent, were summoned before General Godley. He pointed out that as all the officers had gone [kua pau], having been ordered into battle with the Pakeha companies, were the Maori Contingent to remain as a separate entity there would be no officers available for that contingent. And so he was afraid to send them to fight and perhaps he would leave them behind to guard the roads and to do other jobs as well. We thought about our officers when the survivors returned to Lemnos for rest in the last days of September, and Te Rangihiroa and I were the only officers remaining. Captain Pitt and Captain Dansey had returned to New Zealand, others were in England and Malta, wounded or ill. Although some had returned there were no Pakeha fit to take over the main positions. Were we to have stayed as a single unit at that time the top positions would have gone to Pakeha, and since the competent Pakeha
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had been distributed amongst the Pakeha companies there only remained the incompetent Pakeha who would send us to our deaths. We knew that the Colonels of the Pakeha companies were all wise men and we thought it would be better that we join the Pakeha companies and come under competent Colonels rather than take ourselves off to a different place to serve under a fool who would send us off to the afterlife. You and the people should understand this. For the moment we have good men and we Maori are staying together.
2. The benefit of fighting together. You know that for the battle at Gallipoli on that night in August Maori platoons were allocated to Pakeha companies of the Mounted Brigade and did not fight together. On that night the Maori gained honours, and not because we all stayed together at Chunuk Blair.
3. As for Maori bravery, going bravely into battle together was appropriate in the time when their weapons were hatchets, taiaha, clubs and staffs. However in the time of the field-gun, the machine-gun and the other fearful Pakeha weapons we do not think it is good to go into battle as a single unit. In this way we can be sure of having some survivors. On 6th August the courageous acts were not those of the combined body. On 21st August one hundred Maori went into action amongst the thousands of Pakeha from Otago and Southland and the Maori made a name for themselves taking the enemy fortifications.
4. You are right about the name, but whatever the contingent does the name of Maori will not be diminished.
5. We Maori thought that the splitting up of the Maori was wrong at the beginning, but when we heard the explanations given to us by the man in ultimate authority we had to agree with him. Were we far away and not in military uniform and standing in the crowd of people at home perhaps our thoughts would be different because we would not have seen the things we have seen here. You have said serious things to us - that we have disregarded the people. We cannot say all that could be said now, but if the two of us return, or one of us returns, we will be able to say these things on the marae in the sunshine. You appreciate that there are others who are able to speak, but we must remain dumb until we take off these uniforms. Therefore stay close to us, particularly perhaps when the fearful German munitions are coming close to us. Best wishes, Ha, to you and the people. May he protect us all by divine intervention. From your friend and servant,
Henare Te Wainohu.
26th May, 1916.
The Roll of Honour.
Wounded. Privates P Waikere, J Danger, T Matenga, A Ellers, P Marunui, G Waldron. Lance-corporal N Toki.
Ill. Private P Pineha, Bugler Rangi Hiroti (pneumonia).
Killed. Privates Henare Waru, Koti P Whitau, and Arapata.
Died of Wounds. Private Eruera Kawhia.
Died of Illness. Private Tauetahi.
Flesh Wounds. Lance-corporal Noko Toki, Privates Powiri Haka, Wiremu Aipeta, Pipi Marunui, Rangi Elers, George Waldron, Tuheke Matenga, James Danger, Lieut. Walker.
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WAR NEWS.
The Western Front.
From 26th to 28th June people held their breaths having received news that the Germans were doing well. It seemed as if they taking Verdun. They made three major assaults and the French did the same. After 29th the news was that Germany was not doing so well. If this is the case then the French will not be troubled.
The English.
We have not heard much about the activities of the English on the Western Front. Very little news of their doings is reaching us. The explanation is that they are preparing themselves for an advance and we think that the time has come now for such an attack.
The Anzacs.
This is a pet name given to the survivors of Gallipoli. These are people who think nothing of charges. They have made many surprise attacks on the German trenches, terrifying the Germans. When they come across Germans they shoot them or stab them with their bayonets.
The Maori.
Because the Maori have been integrated into the Pakeha companies, no separate news is coming out about them, but although they are hidden amongst the Pakeha we are still receiving accounts of their bravery in fighting and of their skill at felling trees too.
The East.
Russia is still effectively engaged in striking the jaws of Austria and Germany. In his report, General Brussiloff says that he has taken 194,041 German soldiers prisoner; he has captured 4,031 officers, 219 guns, 644 machine-guns, 196 cases of ammunition, and 38 search-lights. This engagement went on from 4th June to 23rd.
◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊
A woman called Mrs Lambert from Edmonton, England, recently celebrated her 102nd birthday. She was born before the Battle of Waterloo. She is still physically fit and has a clear mind; she can remember the time when writing paper cost a penny-halfpenny and it cost 1/6 to post a letter. She loves going to the cinema. She has five generations of descendants – seven daughters, twenty grandchildren, nineteen great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.
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FIELD-MARSHAL LORD KITCHENER.
The Ladder by which he Ascended to Greatness.
The summits reached by great people
Were not reached by flying like a bird,
But, while their friends were overcome by sleep,
They strode ever upwards
During the watches of the night.
[The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night.]
St Augustine’s Ladder – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Lord Kitchener was a true Englishman even though he was born in Ireland. He was born on 24th June, 1850. His father, like him, was a soldier. His father served as a soldier for many years in India and when he finished there he went to live in Ireland. There his five children were born – four boys and one girl. Lord Kitchener was the second of the boys. One of his younger brothers, Sir Walter Kitchener, was a great man. It is now three years since Sir Walter died. He was Governor of one of the large English interests in India [sic], Bermuda, where he died. Lord Kitchener died without issue and his title goes to his elder brother, Colonel Eliot Kitchener.
Lord Kitchener’s first step on his journey to become a soldier was as a private. The first testing of his vocation was in a different country from his, that of the French. In 1870 France and Prussia were at war. Lord Kitchener was drawn there by this war and joined up and fought on the side of France. The remarkable thing is that he spent his first days fighting on the French side and, likewise, he was to spend his last days fighting on the French side. He was just a private at that time but by the time of his death he had reach the summit of soldiering. From here accounts were going around that the time would soon come when this man’s name would be widely known. At the time of the war mentioned above he became ill and returned to England. After this he began to be involved in some major works and started his ascent. In 1871 his name appeared in the Gazette as one of the people who was very knowledgeable about machines, men who were selected by the King as being gifted for such work. In 1874 he was appointed an assistant surveyor to Major Conder in the Holy Land, Palestine. This was a very important work and the world is now grateful for the excellent work of Lord Kitchener. In 1878 he was promoted to Lieutenant. That year he went to the island visited by Paul on his first missionary journey, Cyprus.
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His task here was to sort out the work and the business of the Government. After this he was appointed administrator of Erzurum, one of the large cities of Turkey which had been defeated by Russia. When this work was finished he returned to Cyprus. His work at this time was to survey that island. At this time war broke out between England and the Arabs of Egypt and Lord Kitchener was sent to Egypt, the place where he made his name because of the remarkable work he did in that country. In this war he was promoted to the rank of Major [sic]. At the end of that war he was appointed one of the 26 officers who were to command all the English soldiers there. In January, 1883, he was promoted to the rank of Captain. In 1884 he was appointed brevet major. That year he went with a large and famous army, the army to relieve General Gordon. This army was under the command of Sir Herbert Stuart and Lord Kitchener was one of his leading men. For his efforts to save the citadel of Khartoum from the enemy he was made Lieutenant-Governor in 1885. He was also given other awards by the Khedive, the Governor of Egypt. In 1886 he was Governor of the Red Sea Littoral. Soon after this he became Governor of another area called Suakin. While he was here he continued to fight with the Arabs. In 1888 he was fighting against the Arabs when he was wounded; it was a serious wound as a bullet broke his jawbone. In 1887, the year before this battle, he was made ADC to the Queen, a position like those of the Captains who accompany the Governor. After his recovery he returned to Egypt in the Spring of that year. He had not been long in Egypt when fighting broke out in the Sudan and he went to take part in that war under Sir Francis Grenfell. Here people observed his bravery, his wisdom, how he worked hard, and how he was able to take in all that he saw before him. His reputation grew here. Sir Francis spoke highly of him here. For his qualities he received the CB. In 1892 he was made head of all the armies of Egypt. At this time he was a Sirdar [the British Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Army], a General. While he was Sirdar he began his secret task of using all his abilities to improve everything relating to the Egyptian military. Perhaps it was because of envy that the Khedive, the Governor of Egypt in 1894, began to criticize some of the companies of black soldiers under Lord Kitchener’s command. Lord Kitchener was alerted and said that he was finishing.
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The situation came before the Mother Government in England, but the Government did not want to bring an end to Lord Kitchener’s work. When they saw the good work he was doing they awarded him the KCMG. Soon after this he was promoted to the rank of Major-General, he was awarded the Khedive’s medal, and also the KCB. This honour in 1896 involved membership of an eminent company of knights called the [Taua ki Tongori]. Now we come to the activities which raised this man to high office.
The Battle of Atbara.
We see here the strength, the stout-heartedness, and the wisdom of Lord Kitchener. Atbara was 384 miles from the place where it would have been easy to fight the black king of Atbara and his savage people. This town was far away and difficult to get to because there were no roads. Most of the country to be crossed was desert. Because the place was so far away and because there were no roads, Lord Kitchener thought that it would be easier to convey his troops and all the equipment needed for a war if he built a railway line to the place. After giving it brief consideration he began to build his railway line. People criticized him and some said that he was mad. But what was that to him? He continued with his project. After a year’s work the railway line was completed. The length was as pointed out above, 384 miles. This shows his strength, his stout-heartedness, and his wisdom. In April, 1898, the year following the completion of the railway, his army arrived at Atbara and defeated the enemy. The slaughter was terrible and that kingdom will not be re-established. Perhaps the length of the journey and the problem of the roads would not have been known had he not built the railway.
The Battle for Omdurman.
In September of the year of the Battle of Atbara, Lord Kitchener fought against another section of blacks at Omdurman. In this battle 11,000 of the enemy were killed, 16,000 wounded, and 4,000 taken prisoner by him. This was a famous battle, the battle best known as being a battle against the Dervishes. On his side 50 were killed and 450 wounded. For this major enterprise he was given the title Baron, and he was known as Baron Kitchener of Khartoum and Atbara. Together with this he received a a gratuity from the Government of £30,000 and the Khedive’s medal.
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The Resolver of Disputes.
One of the remarkable things about Lord Kitchener was his knowledge of how to use means of avoiding troubles and war. Lord Kitchener was unaware that the English and the French were in a dispute over the boundary between them at a place in Africa called Fashoda. The French had raised their flag in a place it had no right to be; they reasoned that it had been wrongfully acquired. Had there been fire-brands about there would have been fighting at that time. But when Lord Kitchener saw that flag standing there he took an English flag and erected it alongside as it were making a gesture of friendship. He did not order military action or anything but he explained the situation to the Government with the result that it was mollified, all was well and there was no fighting. Lord Kitchener had not been a Baron for long when he was made a Lord. All his great achievements before were well known. When the Boer War began he was the close companion of Lord Roberts, the Field-Marshal at that time. When Lord Roberts resigned he became the director of the war against the Boers until the end of that conflict. Here again we saw the clear thinking and the wisdom of this man which brought about a swift peace settlement and removed all the prickly business between them. For this kind of work he was promoted to General and received from the Government a gratuity of £50,000.
OTHER ITEMS.
On the Eastern and Western Allied fronts the Allies are pressing in on the Germans at places where they had been taken prisoner.
The Germans have carried off all the girls of the French town, Lille. It is thought that the idea is that should work for them but the suspicion is that they will do terrible things to the girls.
FOOD FOR TE KOPARA.
June: Mrs Woodbine-Johnston, 5/-; Ataeru Waru, 5/-; Haimi Haraira, 5/-; Peneha Honeri, 5/-.
July: Hunia, Tangoio, 5/-; Dr H Haines, 5/-; Rev W Te Paa, 5/-; Whaaka Tureiti, 5/-;Hoana Tureiti, 5/-; Pita Hauraki, 5/-; Henare Akuhata, 5/-; Tuakana Kapene, 5/-; Erueti Taiaho, 5/; Erueti Monita, 5/-; Tumanako Ratapu, 5/-; Kemara Taha, 5/-; Keepa Tamitere, 5/-; Renata Taiapa, 5/-.
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RULES OF THE PAPER.
1. Te Kopara is published monthly.
2. The subscription for the paper is five shillings (5/-) a year paid by postal note or stamps.
3. Anyone wishing to take Te Kopara should send the money with the covering letter.
4. Articles are welcome from all parts of the country, but the Editor reserves the right to decide on what to print. Write clearly.
5. Address all letters to:
Te Kopara,
Te Rau,
Gisborne.
A NOTICE
To those wanting a Prayer Book or Hymn Book. I now have plenty of books. The prices are:
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Small, hard cover 2/6
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Prayer Book, New Testament and Hymns, superior cover, 5/6
Hymns 6d
Words for the Prayerful Heart 3d
I will pay the postage to send the books to you
H W Williams,
Naurea, Gisborne
People wanting a Bible or a New Testament should apply to the Bible Depository Sunday School Union, Auckland.
Bible, 2/6, 3/6, 4/6. Enclose a postage stamp for 1/-.
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Printed and published by H W Williams at Te Rau Printing Works, Berry Street, Gisborne, New Zealand.
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