NATIVE LAND COMMISSION.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 261, 28 July 1908, Page 11

NATIVE LAND COMMISSION.

WAIRARAPA- - NATIVES AND "THEIR . ' LANDS. . . ' "'(BT'TEIEGBAPH.^SPECIAIi. <JOBBJ!SPONDENI.) ; .Mastertcn, July. 26. : -The -Native Land Commission - represented by.Sir-RobertiStout .terminated ;a„two. : .days' sitting-at .'Mosterton yesterday. Amongst the; applications •considered Mvere those L of Kuku.-Karaiiiana :and two hundred .others with- reference to . the lease of 18,000 acres ,oft'-Native rland ; near .Castlepoint; Hona one' hundred others regarding the- Malcirikiri, Block near Hastwell; which it was-proposed to divido four Native ow'ners; A. V. Udy, Hukanui, regarding the proposed purchase of 500 acres of tho Mani ga.tainbka Block; Purakau Waika, Carterton, asking ~for; consent to sell sixty acres of Taiid at-Gladstone;- A., A. Cameron, Masterton, asking for approval of-the lease of 916 acres ofi.the, Mataj)ibi Block,'Te Ore Ore; A. A. Cameron asking , jjermission ;to re-lease 322 of the Okurupatu- Block -to G. M'Kay. ,The) ; ,wholeVof -the' applications will bo given consideration ..as • .soon as ■ possible by the pommission. . : r.' Commission yesterday ; Nireaha- Tamaki, :chief • of the Ngatihamua, yoiced- a Maori' grievanco by. stating that ho would*likei,-to- point out that.many- Native ■ lands/inV'-the-- district were, leased to Euro- ,. peansj-:.- arid.very; little: was loft'to'the Maoris own use. .He asked the Commission".to consider: tho matter, and,if it'is,found that the Natives have ; notVtoo;much land' , to -.'.farm' for their own benefit,i.tHe,leases,;now, oil - point, of , expiring should be reserved for them.- -If land was -reserved'tho speaker thought the Natives would very soon .prove themselves..to be' efficient,;farpiers.. ■,' The.. Maoris, had . leased . their,.lands''in tho early days- because ■' then they. 'did . not really : knoiv the worth of tho ;Now they saw .that it was good to, farm'; their .own,lands. .The chief.;also'asked that, small'area's, should, bo-cojisqlidatedj-i and -that, there should* be ,no hindranbe .to .exchanges, between Natives and Eurcmeaids . -when', Natives ' would,, reap, the , -Jiad instructed, his'.people,iot to sell any niore. of their lands, which belonped not. tc-tlicm but. to their ,descendants. ,Kuku' Karaitiana endorsed Nireaha's state-, declaring .that,, Natives now would, only ho. too'ploanod tq gefc upon the..land if re r ..^e',:j^i'.aadg^for.^hemi.jlany. Natives; weijo!iow, Jimgrl'.on : -the; charity.'; of friends and relations, because their lands had been sold'by iheir'ancestors. ~,.j , There were also ,several other , applications from .Natives asking that they, should all be allowed to farm lands, the leases of which were. just no^v.-on the point of expiring.,. Commission; stated that' it would go fully into the merits of the applications.