Letter to William Thomas Stewart, 14 October 1893
Salt Lake City, Utah. .
Prest. W. T. Stewart,
New Zealand.
Dear Brother:
Your favor of Aug. 12th reached our office while we were
absent at the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago, or it would have
been answered by the last mail.
With regard to the matter—the emigration of some of the
Maori Saints—that occupies the most prominent place in your communication
we will say that, as you are aware, we have hitherto felt reluctant to
encourage the wemigration of any of this people from their native islands
to Zion; our experience with our Kanaka brethren and sisters not having
been altogether encouraging; but after perusing your letter and learn-
ing therefrom their characteristics, their industry and capability for
such work as is incidental to the opening of a new country we have felt
that a limited number of the best and most capable brethren and their
families might at the present be permitted to gather, such ones as you
and your associate missionaries would deem most suitable to meet and
overcome the difficulties and peculiarities of so great a change in their
mode of life as would be incidental to their removal to the^se^ mountains.
Neither do we think it would be well to treat them as our emigrants of
the white races are treated—permit them when they reach here to make a
way for themselves, locate where they choose and provide for their
necessities as seems best to their judgment. We believe that it will be
desirable to have our Maori friends placed in the charge of some one or
more of the brethren who know their language and who have love and
