OVERDUE NATIVE RATES.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 23, 28 January 1928, Page 16

OVERDUE NATIVE RATES.

SOLUTION IN CONSOLIDATION

SIB A. T. NGATA'S MISSION,

KING COUNTRY

AND NORTH

AUCKLAND.

One of the most pressing problems of county councils throughout New Zealand, and especially the North Island, is the collection of outstanding rates on native-owned projierties lying within their respective districts. Discussions have taken place in many circles upon the be:>t method of collection of rates on these blocks, and one solution suggested involves the making of facilities for the consolidation of interests in the various properties. This procedure would, it is argued, enable the native owners to work their' lands, and so place them in a position to accept their liabilities under the rating systems, in the same way as Europeans.

The success which has so far attended the consolidation of interests in native blocks on the East Coast, under the inspiring guidance of Sir A. T. Ngata, has given rise to a proposal to extend the principle .to Maori blocks in the northern districts, including the King Country and North Auckland. The object of consolidation is to bring the scattered interests in various blocks into such a form that they can be dealt with by a system of individualisation. It is argned that if a Maori's holdings are worth anything, he should be placed in ti position to benefit by those interests, and, furthermore, that so soon as the land is made available for working, the native should be compelled to accept his liabilities in exactly the same way as the pakeha settlers. It is to forward the scheme of consolidation that Sir Apirana Ngata left Wellington late last week for Otiria, in the King Country. where a big conference of Maori tribal leaders is now proceeding.

Government assistance is being rendered in the furtherance of the consolidation principle, by the detailing of members of the Native Land Court staff to work in conjunction with Sir A. T. Ngata. The investigation required is likely to prove a lengthy business, but it will be worth while if it proves, as it is intended to prove, what land there s available for settlement and suitable or farming pursuits, and whether the native owners are able and prepared to carry on the work. The financial importance of the investigation was hinted at during the Parliamentary discussion of the Native Land Claims Adjustment Bill, during last session, when the Minister of Native Affairs stated that in the Auckland and North Auckland districts alone there are heavy charges outstanding in regard to survey liens, amounting to well over £118,000. The Government has taken power under the Finance Bill to treat these survey liens in exactly the same way as rates that are overdue and impossible of collection. It is left in the hands of the Finance Minister and the Minister of Lands to decide whether these charges are fair, or whether any portion of them should j be regarded as a reasonable liability on the land. There is also the question of the balance of £13,000 of uncollected rates under the Crown and Native Lands Rating Act of 1882; the Government holds that those rates which have remained uncollected for very many years should be wiped out, in order to give the consolidators an opportunity of proceeding with as few hindrances as possible. The same view applies to accumulated rates. The Native Land Claims Adjustment Bill contained provision for allocating portions of blocks to liquidate fair and reasonable claims by local bodies for accumulated rates, and*by this means the county councils are assured of some relief from a problem that has amounted to one of a most pressing character. This method of meeting just and reasonable claims has been proved effective in some instances in the past, and its general application to the liquidation of such claims may be looked upon as an established practice.

During recent months consolidation schemes affecting more than one block on the East Coast have been brought to finality, and the Maori owners are now in a position to farm their own lands. The enterprise shown by many of the natives, and the general readiness to fall in with the march of progress, must be ascribed in a substantial measure to the zeal with which the negotiations for consolidation were carried forward by Sir A. T. Ngata, and his personal attention to the projects in more northern districts .should prove a happy augury for his racial brothers there.