Maoris Poor Debt-payers

Maoris are notoriously poor debt-payers. In my own case it was not a matter of choice at all. When I visited the Chatham Islands in 1905, I was much amused to find that the islanders' term for booking or debt was

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"rongo taima," i.e. "long time." When an islander had put in his kit that which had been served to him over the counter, he would look at the server and, smiling urbanely, would whisper, "Rongo taima," and the storekeeper would nod his approval and look for his pen.