Taranaki Herald. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1909. NATIVE LANDS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 14009, 14 September 1909, Page 2

Taranaki Herald. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1909. NATIVE LANDS.

The Hon. George Fuwlds was interviewed in Auckland last week with reference to the Native land question, which is now exciting keen interest in the northern city. It is the common impression that up to the present the traditions of tlie past, forbidding anything like hurry in dealing with Native lands, have not been departed from, but, if the Minister for Education is to be believed, this is quite a mistake. People do not seem, he says, to be aware of the progress that has been made; at no time since he has been in New Zealand has there been so much activity displayed in rendering Native lands available for settlement as during the last two or three years. In support of this emphatic declaration, he quoted figures showing the Native land rendered available for settlement from October, 1900, the d,ate of the enactment of the Maori Lands , Administration Act, to June of the present yeur. The private alienations totalled 1,598,791 : acres, made up principally as follows: — The Maori Land Boards approved of 1958 dealings, including 984,202 acres leased and 4349 . acres sold; the Native Land Courts confirmed 2619 dealings, including 189,630 acres sold and 276,277 acres ' leased ; and the Governor-in-Council consented to 195 dealings, covering 34,717 acres. To these have to be added trust lands leased on v behalf^ of owners as follows : — 229,584 acres ■ by Maori Land Boards, 63 t 676 , acres by East Coast Trust Land , Board, and 51,294 acres under the Mangatu No. 1 Empowering Act. In addition the Crown has still 266,403 acres acquired under the Native Lands Purchases Act, 1 making the total rendered available for settlement during the last I nine years 2,209,749 acres. Then . there is a balance of 400,879 , acres, vested in or administered by Maori Land Boards, which will be placed on the market as soon' as the necessary preliminary subdivisional surveys and roading are completed, and other lands recommended by the Commission to be similarly dealt with/ will be placed under the operation of the boards . as soon as possible. Dealing first, however, with the 2,209,749 acres of land which Mr. Fowlds says has been rendered available for settlement during the period in question, we should like to know how many actual settlers have been placed in occupation during 'the period. A quarter of a million acres of new land opened up annuilly ought to absorb, a lot of settlers, and that is what the average .vorks out at; where are the settlers ? The term "rendered available for settlement" may mean much or little ; what is wanted is actual and successful settlement; -jun Mr. Fowlds tel) us how many families have been placed on those two millions of acres of land P He furnished a table, it is true, showing that of the seven and a half million acres of Native lands held by Maoris in the North Island, rather over three and a quarter million acres ajre estimated to be "profitably occupied," leased in various ways, but that table will not remove the impression'- that there is still too"much of the "taihoa" policy in connection with Native lands. Of the other four •md a quarter million acres, 2,120,647 acres are set down as "available for settlement," the balance of 2,093,964 acres 'being accounted for thus : Patapu lands, the titles to which have not been settled, 570,752 acres; subject to the Urewera Native District Reserve Acts, 466,862 acres^ subject to the Thermal Spring District Act, 121,007 acres; lands, since purchased by. t}ie Crown, 20,000 i.creß; and balance "not dealt with," 915,343 acres. ,Notf all these figures may be correctly, stated by Mr. Fowlds, and yet without disposing of the contention that Native lands are not being settled as they ought to be. We want to see white settlers placed on these lands, with such n tenure as will encourage them to make them as productive as possible. It does not help the i ountry for speculators tq be allowed to take up at nominal rentit Is large blocks of unoccupied Native lands to hold in idleness until the advance of settlement makes them valuable. In spite of Ministerial protestations it is difficult to believe that vigorous life has been infused into the Native land policy, and so long as .Ministers delude themselves and try to delude the public into the IM-lii'f that it is so we are not likely to see much change.