NATIVE LANDS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 316, 1 October 1908, Page 4

NATIVE LANDS.

STRONG" REMARKS BY THE CHIEF ; JUSTICE. LAXITY OF NATIVE LAND COURTS. Some important remarks relating to Native leases were made by the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) at a sitting of the Native Land. Commission yesterday, when the quesof the proposed valuation of certain leases of part of the Orakei Native Reserve at Auckland, the subject of an Act passed in 1882, was.further considered. The matter is now before Parliament, the commission haviug recommended that tho leases should be validated on special lines. Mr. Mahony,. of Auckland, said that he appeared for Mr. Tlios. Coates and Mrs. Elizabeth Coates, who were lessees of various sections in the block. If. tho validation were approved on .the lines recommended injury would be done to his clients' interests. He alleged that the commission had apparently based its report on erroneous data and facts furnished by the Native Land Court. The effect of those mistakes 1 was, he declared, to induce tho commission to recommend the validation of in some instances leases surrendered years ago relating to property now tho'subject of entirely new leases for very much longor terms than tho original leases. Then again in some instances the date of the lease was gjven instead of the date of the commencement of the term. . The Chief Justice: The commission obtained its information with regard to those matters from the records of the Native Land Court. .' Mr.'Mahony, continuing, said that his clients were among those who, it was stated by the ' commission, had acted bona-fide throughout. They had expended considerable amounts on tho property—Mr. Coates had spent £5000—including a large sum on the erection of a house. The Natives themselves asked that these people should have tho leases. In order to save time ho hsH come down to Wellington, where he had seen the Native Minister, who had suggested that he should bring the m&ttor before tho commissioners.

" ALL NATIVE LEASES OUGHT TO BE AUCTIONED." :' v. . ;. The' Chief Justice said that the' coirimission hafl.not .previously been aware that such errors "'oxisted.'; Continuing,' lie ~qb-. uso;;sayingf.ahythiiig about .- .tho ' Natives being satisfied with the amount ? of ' the rent' they receivo, for theirlands. My experiencei'has convinced me'that the Maoris don't : know the value of' their. land'a'n'd,'in"'my : ' opinion, tho only fair way of dealing with such leases is; to put them lip to auction, for a Native has- no chance at all with'a;'shfewd,j smart business man. We . all : know , of-, cases whero a European desires to, Squire;certain land, aiid lie goesto a person h'aving influence with the Maoris who, being' 'well' paid,"puts the thing through in no time. And so .the fact that the Maori lessor is satisfied has no effect whatever upon my mind." . , 1 . .At a later stage, when reference ,was made by Mr.* Mahony to a particular lease which lie said had been confirmed by tho .Native Land Act, his Honour remarked: "No European \yith any gumption—no business manwould grant a leas-3 on such terms; and that lease in itself is sufficient to show how the Natives arc dealt with. Here, for instance, we.havo a-Native owner, who is to lease his Mnd for twenty-one' years at £10, but for the last seven years ho is only to get £9! I can oiily say that, if tho Native Land Court, haying certain figures before them, confirmed such a lease, then they were llot doing their duty. Everybody knows that land enormously increased in value between 1899 and 1906. What sort of way is that to look after the interests of the Natives? Why, there has been an increase of-value of from 50 per cent, to 100 per cent. That is proof that the Natives are utterly unable to deal with Europeans in tho matter of the disposal of their land 3, and it is a further proof that the confirmation of such leases by tho Native Land Court is carricd out in a perfunctory manner. If tho land had belonged to a-European,,he would have called in competent valuers What valuer would have said that the : rent should be reduced towards tho end of the term? No man of character or honesty would say anything of tho sort." , Mr. Mahony: Theso leases were dealt with in-the same manner as Native leases had been dealt with in the past. " A DISGRACE TO THE DOMINION." Tho Chief Justice: It is a perfect disgrace to the Dominion. Everything goes to show the incompetency of the Nativo to look after his own interests and tho perfunctory manner in which leases are confirmed. The Natives are supposed to be looked after by the Native Land Courts. Matters like this come before the commission every day. Mr. Mahony: It is only typical of Native land legislation Tho Chief Justice: It is nothing of tho sort. It is, typical of the maimer in which we aro allotting Native lands to pass to favoured Europeans, and then complaint is hoard that the Natives aro not .properly utilising their lands. The whole thing is absurd. Here commission is asked to recommend tho validation of leases' some of lyhich have been improperly granted. Mr. Mahony: I can' assure the commission that- the Nativo Land Court went into the matter carefully. Wo acted'with the entire acquiescence, of the judges of the Nativo Land Court, aud if thoy did something which turned out to bo-wrong, "why' should wo be punished ? No question of valuation was over raised. 1 • *?'

The Chief Justicc; It is an extraordinary tiling. You have tho lease, and if it is good it should be confirmed, but if it is not it should not be. Parliament may do what it likes, but I am not going to lend myself to recommending what I think is wrong, 110 matter what has been done in the past. I do not suggest that the actions of your clients have not been bona fido throughout.Mr. F. Earle, of Auckland, appeared in respect of the leases granted to Alv. Kent of Auckland, and Mr. H. D. Bell, KiC., for the lessors, of that portion of the block on which the house waß built, i Tho lessors, lie said, asked through him that tho lease should be confirmed for the full period of fortytwo years instead of twenty-one years, as recommended by the commission. His Honour said that Mr. Ngata and himself would confer on the whole matter.