THE MAORI AND HIS LAND.

Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 195, 16 August 1920, Page 4

THE MAORI AND HIS LAND.

The popular idea that there is an enormous reserve ..f native land in New .Zealand, mostly unused, which is seriously hindering settlement, is corrected by the figures given in this year's report of the Native Department. The fact is that the area left for the Maori is limited and decreasing rapidly. In the last nine years a million acres have been purchased by the Crown and 1.1130.000 acres alienated through other sales, so that now the area owned by the Maoris _as dwindled to 4,787,000 acres. Of this three and a-half million acres are estimated to be profitably occupied, and of the remainder large areas are in the pumice area or include swamps and land unfit for settlement. Altogether the Department estimates that there are less I than a million acres of new land fit for : settlement left for the 47,000 Maoris in j the North Island and their descendants, I which the Department thinks is barely I sufficient for tKcir needs. The Department reminds the white mart that he has acquired about 62,000,000 acres of native land, and suggests that under the circumstances he should not grudge tiie original New _calander what remains to him. The Department might have added that much of this land was bought for a mere trifle, and that some of it was confiscated under a doubtful policy. It is quite true that the Maori had more land than lie could ! use. and that according to an inexorable j law lie had to give way to pressure from I without. But it is worth recalling that ] when, just before the Taranaki war, the settlers clamoured for more land, which - the Maoris refused to sell, Bishop Selwyn reminded them that large areas had I already been bought for a few pence per acre. The Maori is one of our problems; ! we made him what he is to-day. We are not going to improve his position by depriving him of his land. Troubles 1 over noxious weeds and unpaid rates, annoying though they are, are only small aspects of the question. The main problem is to get the Maori to work and develop his own land. One would like to know more about what the Maori himself is doing in this direction, how much of the profitably occupied land is farmed by j Maoris, and how much by white men. But if the amount of good Maori farming 1 may be small, it must be remembered that no systematic attempt lias yet been made to make a progressive farmer out j of the Maori. The Weather Bureau forecast for 24 - hours from .) a.m this day is as follows: "The indications are for south-easterly winds, strong to gale. The weather will probably prove squally, with heavy I showers. The night will probably be very cold. Barometer rising. Sea 1 heavy. Tides high." j The Board of Trade gives notice thatj until stocks of locally manufactured con-i denscd milk bought at the old rates are. exhausted no alteration in its price will be permitted. I Archdeacon George Mac Murray conducted an impressive service at St.; Col-umba's Anglican Church, Grey Lynn, 1 yesterday morning. A brass tablet was unveiled to the memory of the young men connected with the church wiho made tho supreme, sacr'fice during the [ late war. The Archdeacon also consecrated the colours of the Grey Lynn Boy Scouts. Five troops of Scouts attended tbe service. Tihe preacher referred to a religious life as being one of devotion and adventure. He exhorted the lads and all his hearers to be imitators and followers of thoee who had "fought the good fight" and finished their course with (honour and victory. The Archdeacon mentioned that St. Columba, after whom that church was named, went from lona to Ireland and did a great work training missionaries. Reference was also made to the good work accomplished by the Rev. Samuel Marsden, who first broke ground in Xew Zealand for the Christian Churoh, also to the late Bisfttop G. A. Selwyn and Bishop Patteson, who was ] tnartyfed in the South Seas.

"It cost 'him £70 for his mistake,"' stated Senior-Sergeant McNamara of I William Gray, charged at the Police 3 Oourt with having driven his motor van , on the road without lights after sunset. _ The Senior-Sergeant explained that a ' 1 tram car bumped the unlit motcrr van. * and the bill for repairs to the van ran j -to £70. Under the circumstances the' driver of tbe van was let off without a fine for not having 'his vehicle lit. I Fifteen of the jurymen who were sum-; . moned to attend at the Supreme Court to-day asked for exemption. Mr. Justice Stringer granted all the applications ' with the exception of one based on "in-j 1 convenience,'' his Honor remarking that , sorvice on the jury ivuh inconvenient to most people. Several men pleaded that they were deaf, and one assured the judge that he had "nothing against the ; Court,'' which his Ifono. remarked was . very sati. factory! Over the age limit of t 60 v-ears, an applicant was informed that h_ was not liable 'for service, and should aek the. police to have his name removed . from the roll. ' Many people, are familiar with the - obelisk and figure that has been erected ■ f by tiie Victoria be ague on the triangular _ reserve at the junction of f>y-moiid« and W_kencld Strecte. This is a memorial Ito tho soldiers, eailom, and friendly > Maoris who'fell in the Maori war, and it . will be rmveilcd at two o'clock on Wed-1 ; nesd'ay afternoon. Four veteran* of the , Maori war. Messrs. A. Morrow, G. , I'-owly, J. Stichbury, and If. Wrigg, will •'unveil tho memorial, mid the function is ! to bo a military one, with veterans, old j colonists, returned so Idlers, and toy! , scoutu assembled. Addresses will be! made hy the Mayor (Mr. .1. 11. fluneon),' and the president of the Victoria I/OHgue , (Mr. W. ,1. Mupier). The relatives of I fallen soldier*, in the late war are in- . vitcd to place wreaths on the monii I ment after the unveiring ceremony. 1| The I'ritne Minister lias received in- ■ formation from Australia thai, the ) Federal Government has removed Ihe ' embargo against the export nf super-1 ; pliosr/hate and materials for its maiiii-' faotnre. It was reported to ibe police at ; J ; Paeroa on l-iaturduv morning that the | J i infant, child of Atu Pikari, lalKiurer, of | "l Paeroa, had died suddenly. An inquest '< ' was hold by Mr. \V. W'aflnutt, coroner, 'and .1 verdict was returned in aecork dance with the doctor's evidence that ' the. deceased Huhipere died from siifl'oca- ' tion of the larynx caused by presence of mucus, t , ! 1 A memlior of a firm of manufacturers , agents in Hirmingham has written to the firm's New Zealand agents on conditions in Germany .is follows; "I had an .'I opportunity of going over to the Conj tinent. including Germany, wit.h one of my most important Smith African customers, lt was a very -hurt trip, but I saw r|tiite enough to draw the .'ll - , elusion that as far as (termany is con- - , corned she is not goinj to be anything like s„ competitive fur the next ten tears as she was in 1.1-1. Labour conditions there are twenty times worse than they are in England, ami the rafes that arc'lieintr paid for labour are ennr mous. Tiie average skilled workman ] gets a minimum nf ten marks per hour. - I and it must be rcn'eni-hcrod that a mark , in Germany is still as much a mark Ins a shilling is a shilling in Kngland." One motorist among those who had 'been reported by a constable for drivin" lat nitrht without li_ht«< had a sli. f luck t'h's i>iornin_ -when ihe care was ealied at the Police Court, lt was found that the constable, whose evidence was necessary to prove the ofTcnce. !ia,l in tbe 1 meantime been transferred to the South of New Zealand: consequently the charge was withdrawn. The report of the Auckland TTea.lth Office states that durin_ the past wec-'k seven cases of pneumonia influenza were notified. Other notifications were: — Scarlet fever. If): diphtheria. 0: enteric ■fever, 2: tuberculosis, _; -measles. l_j pneumonia, 24. I The butter producers of Otago have passed a resolution protesting against I the action of the imperial Government in controlling Xew Zealand butter while I Knglish and Irish butter is decontrolled. ! They have further resolved to request the" Dominion Butter Committee to j insist on a fair market. There is no country where the value of advertising is so widely recognised as in the United States. The Shipping Board at Washington railed a conference :_ July of the leading publicity exports of tiie country. Mr. I.aue explained to a i representative gathering that on June iln the Government had on hanil l.Vifl j ships representing a total of 0.243.4(14 ; tons. Of these UiSS were cargo ships of 8,200,000 tons, and 28 cargo and passenger ships of 280.000 tons. The salvage material to I>e sold amounts to between 400.000 and 500.000 tons. \V. M. Thompson, who was until recently in charge of I the advertising of the Shipp'ng Hoard, j said that he had used classified "ads" in many newspapers, and had found (hem 1 very productive of results. He believed that advertising could be used to sell ships up to the capacity of the market. . Every advertising man present was called upon for suggestions as to the best way to market what the Shippinc Board had to sell. Frank Presbrev. speaking from an experience of 2.1 years ' lin steamslwp advertising, said he had found magazines excellent mediums for j general puMVity, hut when it came to getting direct results nothing compared with the daily newspaper. "Good sized 1 'ads' are the dynamite that produces good results," be concluded. Various I committees were set up to consider the I promot'on of a great advertising enm- ! paign and the amount of money that il I would be necessary to expend. I At the last meeting of the Christchurch Tramway Board it was reported that the superannuation scheme for , tramway employees, launched early in j lull), was costing £7402 per annum. Of this amount the State contributes £1480, the board £3580. the balance of '! £2363 'being contributed hy the j employees. The abridged prospectus of the l'u_e- '. knroro Quarries, Ltd., is published in ! this issue. The capital is to be £100.- j 1 000, and 00,000 shares of CI each are. I ,-now offered to tihe public. The pro- I , , : visional directors are Messrs. J. B. Mac- ; , far'ane, Robert Burns, and Ernest i Ya''-s, all of Auckland, and Mr. Arn.iud , Melxellar, of CTiristchutch. Tbe object ! of the company is to acquire a sub-lease , for 07J years of tho trachyte stonebearing areas of some 82 acres situated | r at Pulcekaroro, about four miles from KaiwaJea, on tbe North Auckland Main Trunk line. The property is stated to contain a practically ine.x.haustiblc deposit of stone in two formations—one being admirably suited for converting into road metal, the other being .1 handsome building stone. It is the intention of the company to construct a branch _ railway line to connect with the Main . Trunk line at Kaiwalca. Ladies are advised to see the charming display of novelty voiles in our wind- : ows and department. Smith and Caughey I/united. —(Ad.) Stripe Flannelette, l/ 4._, per yd.—At 1 I Collinson and Williams, Ltd. Extension i j Sale, Symonds St.—(Ad.) ' ;