15 JUNE 1901, Page 2

On June 11th the Duke of Cornwall reached Auckland on

his tour round the world, and was, of course, received with cordial enthusiasm. The special feature of his welcome was that the Maoris joined in it, and that the New Zealanders on every occasion put forward Maori ornaments, emblems, and even words, as being the most distinctive things in their island. There was the usual military display, and the note of all the replies to addresses was the gratitude with which at home King and people had watched the efforts of New Zealand to lend the Mother-Country material military aid. The island sent to South Africa the largest proportion of auxiliaries of any Colony, and the Duke dwelt on that fact with a heartiness which greatly pleased his audience. The readiness to enlist for the war in South Africa was the more remarkable because New Zealand is prosperous, and because the Maoris would have gone, too, had they been permitted. They offered a ,thousand men. They are born soldiers, and we hope yet to see a Maori regiment serving in India, where it would be as valuable as a European one. Service under the Crown cements loyalty, and natives of India, accustomed to Arabs and other dark foreigners, would not regard the Maoris as " savage."