Te Kopara 47
[3] Te Kopara, Number 47, Gisborne, 20 September, 1917.
‘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]
OUR PAPER
During this month there will be two editions of our bird. But do not go hoping that your pet will appear every two weeks. No. There are two editions this month because the Committee that manages Te Kopara decided that it will be better if the paper comes out in the first week of each month.
Before the new arrangements for Te Kopara came into place it appeared in the middle of the month. In July and August of this year it was published on the last day of the month. This month it is published in the middle of September. After this the bird will appear on the first day of each month.
We have received many commendations on the new appearance of Te Kopara. The Editor is grateful to the people who send articles for our bird to carry to your various marae. Our Committee wants articles telling of the activities and the hopes of the four corners of our country. Some parts are busy at sending in articles; some places have yet to bestir themselves. Those places that are asleep. get up lest you be overgrown with spiders!
OTHER ITEMS.
On 9th September the Bishop of Waiapu visited Takapau. At Morning Prayer ten people were confirmed by him, five men and five women. One of the women was from the Catholic Church and has joined the Anglican Church. Her son was confirmed at the same time. The lad is keen to go to Te Rau. He is seventeen and has passed Grade VI.
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4TH AUGUST.
This year on 4th August we enter upon the third year of the war which is blazing overseas – and which is consigning to darkness the wealth of humankind. Most of the world’s great powers have become involved in this war and no nation is undisturbed. Kitchener said – prophetically – that this war would last three years. Three years have passed now and this sulphurous fire continues to blaze – and the mouth of the great whirlpool, Te Parata, is still gaping. Our young men of our islands are near to being swallowed up, and soon they will be dragged off, taken from us, and separated from children and wife. The fighting grows more intense and, ‘who thinks, who knows,’ [cf Nga Pepeha 1654] when it will end, when there will be tranquillity? O Lord, O Lord of Hosts! Have you forgotten this world that you purchased with the sacred blood of your firstborn? Do not remember our sins and the sins of our forebears. Turn your ears to the cries, to the lamentations of the infants, the children, the women, the old women, the old men, the captives and the prisoners.
Perhaps we who are living apart on the margins do not realise the immensity of this disaster which has afflicted the world. It is as if it were the last day. It is true that our lads have gone to the war and some of them have fallen; it is true that we have collected money for the wounded soldiers, but we continue to work at the jobs we were doing before the war – eating, drinking, getting drunk, feasting, marrying and giving in marriage; we hold hui to waste food, waste money, waste time, as a way of having fun, as a way of dealing with death, as a way of showing off. We don’t ask questions, we don’t think, we don’t listen to the voice of God, to the small voice, the gentle voice of God speaking in the wind, in the storm, in the thunder of the gun’s mouth. The land roars, the heavens explode, the sea withdraws. We cry out, ‘Peace, peace, when there is no peace.’ [Jeremiah 6.14] There is a story from olden times: When Rome was on fire, Nero the King played his fiddle. People, the world is aflame, people are falling, so stop playing your fiddle – stop singing, stop laughing, stop sleeping. Get up, gird yourselves – a war is taking place before you. Seize the spears of body and spirit – [ki te aiaha sic ?the taiaha] and prayer.
There is an illness called by the doctor paresis. If a person contracts that disease he has two main thoughts – first, he is a very great man, there is no-one to compare with him, and secondly, he is a great fighting man who wants to strike people down. We may say that the Kaiser is afflicted with paresis, along with the whole German people and his allies. They say that they are the greatest people in the world (civilisation), there is no people comparable to them,
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perhaps they are the ultimate nation – [he tautanga], all other nations are dogs – they are the chosen people. Other peoples are just dust, worms, only useful for cutting asunder and as targets for their guns. Doctor Cabot published the story of a man suffering from paresis. He went into the room where the nurse and man with paresis were wrestling. One of the sick people had been injured by that rascal and the nurse was being attacked by him. Doctor Cabot is a very gentle man, a man of faith, someone who would not tread on a worm if he saw it on the road. However, when he came upon this fight between right and wrong, between lawfulness and lawlessness, no, he did not examine his heart, he cast aside his gentleness and struck the one with paresis. Germany is the one with paresis, England and its allies are the nurses, the smaller nations are the other sick people, America and the nations supporting England [a Kapo]. Who are you who are looking on at the battle of the Well against the mad, of the Law against the lawless, of Right against wrong? Does your faith lead you to stand aside? It takes great faith to support the right in suppressing the wrong. Do you avoid involvement because you are afraid of death? You are going to die anyway. It was [Horatiu] who said: ‘What is a noble death other than dying for your hearth or for your gods?’ We weep for those who have died fruitless. When a man misuses his body he dies and we weep and lament over him. Because he is drunk he falls off his horse or goes into the sea or whatever and we weep. A man who is greedy for pay, who jeers, who sins – when he dies, we grieve. For some people it is better that they die – because if they die other people need not experience pain and sorrow. We lament the deaths of all kinds of people including the deaths of those whose lives have been of no use – but the deaths of those who have died for what is right, for the good, for the truth, these are noble deaths which will be recorded not on crumbling stone but in the book of life. ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’ [John 15.13]
R[eweti] T[uhorouta] K[ohere].
INFORMATION.
All Germans living in New Zealand have been put into detention. Some are at Takapuna, some at Motuihi, and some on Soames Island in Wellington. There are 270 Germans in these places and 70 have been set to work on farms. The Government spent £28,409 last year on providing for them and the soldiers detailed to guard them.
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THE HASTINGS POI GROUP.
The Hastings Poi Group went to Wellington to give prestige to the Hon A T Ngata’s welcome. They performed in the Town Hall on 3rd, 4th, and 5th September. There performance was praised by the Maori tribes who came to Wellington and also by the Pakeha and the Members of Parliament. Apirana Ngata made all the arrangements for the Group in Wellington. Paraire Tomoana and Nikera directed the poi group and the singing group. On their last night in Wellington the whole group went to the military camp at Trentham to entertain the soldiers. The soldiers were delighted with the Maori performance. During the days they stayed in Wellington they were all the guests of Te Heuheu. They all stayed there.
The purpose of their journey was to help with the project of raising money for the Maori soldiers. We have not yet heard how much they raised by their performances but on the last night Ngata revealed that the total amount in his possession was £550. There are still some gifts from the Pakeha to come. There were 45 in the group. This is one of the songs sung by that group.
[Hoea Ra Te Waka Nei]
Paddle this Canoe
[The following translation with annotations is from the folksong.org.nz website. The name of the translator is not given so I am sadly unable to acknowledge the person. – Barry Olsen)
Come dear girls
with the gifts of the time (our action songs)
calling to all, (who have come to this concert)
"Welcome!"
Paddle this canoe (support those in combat)
Paddle, paddle to the horizon (to the war's end)
May the beat of the poi (our fundraising concert)
keep up the morale (of both us and our boys)
What kind of evil is this
that crushes my heart
when my beloved is far away?
Come to me!
So it is, ye maidens
suffering is not good at all.
Come with generosity (Donate to the comfort fund)
to aid the welfare. (of our boys overseas)
How the heart cries out (How heartbreaking is the cry)
"The fantail is here!" (a telegram - a messenger of death)
So the poi will be swung out (So our concert will raise money)
as a sign of protection. (to help our boys survive)
Footnotes:
1. The 1917 version was "Hoea, hoea ki te pae" - Sail, sail to the horizon, i.e. Fight on together until the war is won.
But this line is now sung as Hoea, hoea ki te pai - paddle, paddle for the good (time), i.e. Let's enjoy ourselves now that the war is over.
[Te Kopara (1917) has te pai. – Barry Olsen]
2. The 1917 line was "E rahui i te pai" - Protect the common good - ie. Do your duty.
But this line is now sung as Kia rere tika ai - Make it glide along the right way.
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Missions are now being held in some of the English towns where there are military camps. Many soldiers have given their hearts to Christ. What is happening with the Maori contingent? Some of our young men have pointed out that when they went abroad they were not familiar with alcoholic drinks. During their duties in the trenches they were given rum to drink and in the end they were drinking heavily and getting drunk. Is this an activity for real soldiers? We at home should take care lest we lead our young men into wrongdoing when they return to their marae. We should ensure that the remnant of the people are well brought up.
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A CHURCH IN CHINA.
‘We do not agree to your building your church here,’ These were the words of all the people of a Chinese town to a Chinese family that had turned to the Christian Faith. The Christian people persisted in laying the foundations, their opponents came and broke them down. The matter was brought before the judge who stopped the destruction. The opposition then set about finding a way to prevent the erection of the church for Christ. Then they went to the builders and whispered, ‘You should be careful. Our native gods have an issue in that the top of that lofty tree growing there is the dwelling-place of one of our ancestral gods. That god is angry with you for working at his house.' The builders were very scared. Then they spoke to their Christian employers. Their response was, ‘Don’t be afraid. Our God is the Almighty God; there is no god above him. He will protect you.’ Then they prayed that they might be strengthened to overcome their fear. But they continued to think about the sacred tree, the home of the native god. When they had nearly finished their church there was a bolt of lightning. It struck that tree and split it from top to bottom so that it fell to the ground. When the Chinese who believed in their native gods saw it they were afraid and went to the minister to be taught the principles of the Christian Faith. This wonderful act of God for the Chinese happened this very year.
RUSSIA’S PROBLEMS.
In recent days Russia’s problems have intensified. The reason for this situation is that the nation is divided. Some are committed to the war and some are not. The result is that Germany is making much headway on that front of the war and has taken Riga, a large Russian city.
As a result of this situation in Russia, Korniloff has sought to bring the nation under Martial Law with himself as the governor. Kerensky did not agree and said that the Government should be left to order things for the people (civil law). Because of this issue there was great trouble. Korniloff did not listen. Kerensky said that Korniloff should stand down from his post as
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General in Command of the Russian army. Thereupon Korniloff went and besieged the capital city of Russia. At this point one ceased to hear the voice of Kerensky. Some said he was murdered. But no, he had rather gone to the trenches to exhort the soldiers and afterwards his troops surrounded and captured Korniloff and his officers. The people as a whole are well-intentioned and increasingly want to fight and to strongly engage with the enemy now.
AN ATROCITY.
A ship sailing to Westport, a South Island town, came upon two boats with 60 people on board and towed them to Nelson. The name of the damaged ship was the Regulus. The 60 men were crew from a ship of 4,700 tons called Port Kembla. It is said that the people on strike in Sydney had loaded on board a device to destroy it, a bomb. This kind of bomb was concealed in one of the cases of goods and was designed to explode after the ship had been sailing for a certain time. When the bomb exploded the ship sank in twenty minutes. No-one was killed. The crew think that the same happened to the ships Matunga and Wairuna. Consequently the managers of the ships are taking every precaution lest this kind of thing should happen again. It is thought that this strike taking place in Australia will be suppressed.
NEWS ITEMS ABOUT THE WAR.
Dr Te Rangihiroa, Major Buck, has been awarded the medal of honour, the DSO. The Major says that the honour is not just for him but recognizes the bravery of all the young men of the Maori Contingent under his command. Congratulations to you and your young men on this honour.
Te Kopara told how the Government was asking the whole Dominion to contribute to a fund to finance the war effort. The aim was to raise £12,000,000. That amount has been raised, The total amount collected is £16,000,000. It is wonderful that this very small Dominion should collect such an extraordinary amount. It came about because we feel the pain of war so strongly.
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OTHER ITEMS.
The £2000 target set by Ngati Kahungunu as a contribution to the fund for the soldiers of the Maori People has been reached. Now another project is under way to raise another one thousand pounds. The remaining amount held by the Committees in each town is £400. Ngati Kahungunu are doing a great deal to help our soldiers.
From the beginning of this war until 3rd September this year, the total number of New Zealand soldiers, Maori and Pakeha, who have been killed, wounded, taken prisoner, and other categories is:
Officers killed, 360; Men killed, 8,101; Missing, 48; Taken prisoner, 97; Officers wounded, 846; Men wounded, 20,675; Returned home, 11,493; Discharged, 466; Returned to the front, 1,260; Waiting to return or to be discharged, 136; In hospital, 281; Discharged from hospital, 246; Died of sickness, 14; Deserters, 5; In gaol, 1.
The Rev Henare Paraone has arrived at Te Rau College to prepare for becoming a priest and will return to the Diocese of Auckland to be ordained.
The number of prisoners held by the English in all its camps from the beginning of the war, apart from the Africans, is 131,776. The Germans are holding 56,500 English.
A large gathering of parishioners of St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, Dunedin, was held to object to their priests, teachers, and students being sent to the war.
Three Pakeha minister of the Church of England in the Diocese of Auckland have gone to the war at their request, having received the Bishop’s permission to go.
News has arrived that Greece, under its new king and government, will announce that it will go to war against Germany, Austria and Turkey.
Seventeen countries are now fighting against Germany, including Serbia, Russia, France, Belgium, Montenegro, Japan, Italy, Portugal, Romania, part of Greece, America, and some other smaller nations. The peoples supporting German are Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria. There are some other small nations under Germany.
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THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
By T Te Kanapu.
Chapter III.
Before I launch into the subject of this Chapter, let me explain further the last part of Chapter II about the callings of Bishop, Priest (Elder), and Deacon. These three offices existed alongside those of Prophets, Teachers, and Preachers, but they did not all work together; rather the first officials carried on their work in the places where they lived, which was not the case with the prophets and preachers who scattered throughout the world doing their work. Therefore the authority given by Christ to his Apostles was something passed on to those who took over their positions, right down to those called to be Bishops today. This office is like a chain in which not a single link is broken.
1. In this Third Chapter let us take a wider look at the situation of the Church during the troubles and persecutions that afflicted it in the first three centuries (1st, 2nd, and 3rd centuries). I explained that Caesar was the great king of the world. Therefore whatever the Church’s status, whichever Church it was, all were under the rule of Caesar. Within this great empire Caesar appointed governors for each place. So Pontius Pilate was governor of Canaan, Gallio was governor of Achaia, Pliny was governor of Bithynia, and there were many others. But there was one capital city in which the king lived, Rome. Therefore nearly half the Christians lived under all those governments. We have seen how the Church grew, let us now turn our thoughts to the troubles and persecutions that afflicted that Church.
2. The first thing we find in some of the ancient writings is the burning of Rome. Nero was the king of the House of Caesar at that time, during the years AD64 – AD 68. Because some people bore ill will towards the Christians they accused them of setting fire to Rome. This was the source of the terrible ill-treatment of the Christians by the people and the rulers. They began to kill and beat them. Some were thrown to lions and other beasts to be eaten. Some were crucified. Some were Placed on fires and burned in the garden of the king, Nero. This was a pitiful situation for the Christians. In AD70 Titus became king. This was the king who overthrew Jerusalem. It was besieged for five months before it fell. Among all the kings of the House of Caesar until the year 313, ten persecuted the Church though some were not inclined to.
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Two of worst of those kings were Decius and Trqjan. These are the names of those ten kings [emperors]:
1. Nero (AD 64 t0 68 sic [54 to 68])
2. Domitian (95 to 96 sic [81 to 96])
3. Trajan (104 to 117 sic [98 to 117])
4. Marcus Aurelius (161 to 183 sic [161 to 180])
5. Septimius Severus (200 to 211 sic [193 to 211])
6. Maximinius (235 to 237 sic [235 to 238])
7. Decius (250 to 253 sic. [249 to 251])
8. Valerian (257 to 260 sic [253 to 260])
9. Aurelian (274 to 275 sic [270 to 275])
10. Diocletian (303 to 313 sic [284 to 305])
3. The ancient stories tell us that all the Apostles were put to death for preaching the Gospel. John was the only one to survive. Thirty years after the death of Nero Domitian was made king. He was a man who mocked the Church. The Apostle John was exiled to the island of Patmos (Revelation 1.9). His permanent home was Ephesus. Before he died John gave this instruction to all Christians, ‘Little children, love one another.’ Ignatius was one of the elders who saw the Apostle. This man was a Bishop of Antioch and he had been a bishop for thirty years when John died. At this time, AD 104 to 117 [see above], Trajan was made king. He visited Antioch and Ignatius was brought into his presence. He set about trying Ignatius and asking what the Christian Faith was all about. Afterwards he called upon the Bishop to abandon his faith and to turn to worshipping idols. Ignatius answered the king, saying, ‘There but one God who made heaven and earth and all things; there is one Saviour, the Son, and he gives me life and cares for me.’ He was taken to Rome and was flung to be torn apart by the lions in the theatre, the arena. He died for the faith in AD116. After Trajan, Hadrian became king, and he was followed Antoninus. After Antoninus came Marcus Aurelius. All of these ill-treated the Christian Church. But most of the elders were able to help with the work of the Church under these kings.
(To be continued.)
Five students from Te Rau College have now been summoned to train as soldiers. Once a week they go to the Hall at the barracks for instruction.
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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 to
Te Kopara,
Te Rau Press,
Gisborne.
4. All items you want printed in Te Kopara should be sent to the Editor,
Rev F A Bennett,
Kohupatiki,
Clive, Hawkes Bay.
A NOTICE
To those wanting a Prayer Book or Hymn Book. I now have plenty of books. The prices are:
Large, soft cover 2/6
Large, red cover 3/-
Large, hard cover 4/-
Large, superior cover 5/6
Small, soft cover 1/-
Small, red cover 1/6
Small, hard cover 2/6
Small, superior cover 3/6
Prayer Book with Hymns, soft cover 1/6
Prayer Book with Hymns, red cover 1/-
Prayer Book with Hymns, hard cover 3/-
Prayer Book with Hymns, superior cover 4/-
Prayer Book, New Testament and Hymns, red cover, 3/6
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 Private Bag, 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/-.
New Testament with explanatory headings. 2/6, 3/-, 4/6. Enclose a postage stamp for 3d.
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