NO ACCOMMODATION.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 303, 16 September 1908, Page 7

NO ACCOMMODATION.

NATIVE LAND COURT. STARTLING FACTS. The evidence of Judge Palmer, Chief Justice of the Native Land Court, before tho (Parliamentary Building Committee is interesting as disclosing the startling lack of accommodation for the Native Land Court and its reoords. It seems the Court records are in danger for Want of secure storage. " At the present time," said Mr. Palmer, to the committee, "in the Government Buildings, where we are, I have unrecorded titles representing between five and seven million acres of land. If they were burnt we should have no chance of reconstructing them again. They represent some millions of money, and therefore we must have a strong-room. I wrote to tho Government two years ago telling them I did not like the responsibility of all that in a wooden room." He required new offices with a strong-room.' There would require to be a complete room, because there wero three-hundred minute-books, and all the Native land purchase files in connection with these since . 1870. The files could not be put away,'because they had to be searched daily, and had to bo open to the public. Accommodation was required that would enable the public to enter and search .without taking documents away. At present everywhere people were searching titles, and they may abstract titles against themselves, and the Department had not a chance of watehing them. They had lost some titles. Tho rooms requirod at prosent were as follow: — Strong-room, Registrar's room, Chief Judge's room, Mr. 'Sheridan's room, Judge's room, clerks' room, witnesses' room, Court-room, council's room, Maori Board's room, Land Purchase Department's room, and interpreters' room." At presont thoro were only four apartments. Tliero was only ono Court in the Dominion for tho transaction of Nativo land business. Two years ago tho Chief Judgo wrote informing tho Department of tho risks that wero being run in tho poor security afforded tho records. Tho records were outside n strong-room on wooden shelves. Many of tho records wero getting torn. A strongroom should bo provided at oilce. The Nativo Department had absolutely no strongroom accommodation in tho Departmental wooden building.