THE NATIVE RACE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 572, 29 July 1909, Page 3

THE NATIVE RACE.

RIPE FOR FULL CmZENSHIP. • SPEECH BY HON: j. : CARROLL. THOSE IDLE LANDS. ,' \ : TiTiilst at Papawai : yesterday;'the ActingPrime Minister (Hon. J. .Carroll) delivered an addrres with rcgard'to , ,tho Native laaid and other Native problems. He stated that ?.tho" present time, seemed opportune for a careful consideration of those questions with a,view to .meeting the advancing needs of sottlement and the altered circumstances of tho Maoris. ''During the past fifteen years the State had been actively, engaged through .various.channels in.bringing the Maori people :.np to a.point when they might,be admitted to the full riEhts, and. expected to bear the full respbhsibilities , of citizenship. The policy of the, ; Government : ;in. respect. of .'Native lands'so far as it'had been consciously pxprcssed, in legislation; since 1891, and .by /nets of admihistratioiL during-the same period ;'ppssessed : ithe following cardinal features :— : (a)• Injcomnipn With- the Crown.lands ■■• of the. Dominion to enforce limitation of : f. : holdings-and .to prevent, aggregation of 'estates, freehold or leasehold.. ■; ■ (b) 'By- preventing or 'restricting ;F'ree- '■ trade in Nativo lands.,to. prpvide a wider ~ '.-.i range'"of'tenants' or selectors of such ..'.{iandsr.:."' , •.-;.:• ';■.'} .i,;: '-::':■' "\' : . . • )\- ■.•..■■ , ; (c) By purcbaso to acquire cheap ..: lahds,vto. bo settled on'.tne optional , tenure. . .;,.'.' .. ; <: . ■ _ u .!. i ; (d) By vesting Native laiids in adminis- ■ trative. bodies to ; ..overcome difficulties .-■ ajrising'.but of'imperfect'titles . and so . • ;offer to -the intending; lessee .: i chaser a guarantee of .title. . ',' ; (e)'=-By .purchase'to l extinguish' Maori . : ; rif J'ts, over lands through which exten- .: I sive public' works' would :be prosecuted., '■ :At the 'same time v,thb; necessary 'preliminary, work of vesting the Maori lands .with : titles had been .prosecuted ■with • all .the resources and machinery, at command. Thus, the area of untitled laf.ds hid. been .reduced, frnni;,over ;'two-,to;, about .■'•half . a million acres. Tho Courts had been constantly engaged.in breaking down, the cqmniuDal lands from tribal to family and 'individual holdings. also be recdg- 1 nissd that. tho Government established the ■Validation Court, which' 'had s<st. at rest an enormous number of claims to :Native land arising putjoi the Free-trade policy and comprising ;'a! huge area. The timohad arrived for tlieXconsolidation of the .work-achieved. If thor.p.Vas to be a revision of methods of dealing with itho Native land and other ! : prob!ems,. connected- ..with;; them, then it must;be baseds-on , -~- ■■■■.■,;.:.-• ' ■ ■- ■' (a) A .correct;'apprcciatipn of tho pre- .!: sent ,Jcdiiaition4(;^nc^s^-^pacity.^&f ; '.',dej i v velop'meht', average' business - ;iiifccl- ! j iig'ence of. the Maori communities, .their ; I duties: asicitizens- towardsithe. State,., and: : ' the duties' of the State towards, them.. ';* •.'■■. 0) A correct estimate of how far the. ■ •i i principles .undeflyirig .the; policy ,of. the ;'Government had .■ been' established; '■ so; ; i Ithat;. they;, might bo>:trusted;,■ to \ stand- ■■ i while other methods were used to pro--. : inotP settlement subject; to;such, govern.;'; " . Mng principles; • :, ''

;■ Present Position of the Maoris, j ']''' The[present position^of the Maoris-seemed to be/as follows :—,:,.,.. ',':'.■/:- ~-■■:'_.... >.-. '• : -1.. In a few ""districts, the 'holdings«' were well 'individualised.- The r .Maori owners had ■'enjoyed half a'century.of contact witE'Eu.ropeahsii the-benefits of : education., .and the experience of sitruggio in a European environments It. might be assumed l ,that -the average! Maori under such circumstances should 'be- , 'entrusted'avith ?tho full :contr-pl- of his lands -'.and be saddled.with the attendant re--'J. ,''(-,t.~>% j:.':,: '.;'*'• 2. In other districts the.land was capable -of;; uidividualisatipn; but \yas at .present held; in large/.communal .blocks. ; The-.nattire of some .of the; lands .would "deter attehipts to further ■'s'ubdiyifle 'Iheso.,should be acquired for ; or'.jby ■■ vosfirigl;jinVrbsardsjt'or.(ahe/.p)ynors might -be ■ ; and .' generic s^ir \ ': 3.- In'^spinev.districts, ;pf ownership, fthej cost of . iildiviteafisatioji' : would, eatv-up tlievvalue of the lands.:-;In such" districts a-system .of settlements was ..re-. quire<3 which would give individual holdings 6n-lease to;tflte Maoris , or', co-operative farming,', '-and- :iettlemei}t" : ,associatipns' might. be encouraged; , :; V.. : . ' 5 :■■■•.;■•■■■ •:''■'" . ■' Th.o Maoris had also" teade considerable ad-va-nces : in-many districts in" farmihgr More might;be- ■ done to v ; assist. '■■■ fJiem.'! The older '■■ generation.' had '.almost' died out J. and the : direction of affairs • had passed-largely into- the hands.of -younger.men, whole well _ educated,: and-' in' touch with • public opinion., and; the needs of the "country: With that change.had ; come \a ,cha.hgp ; ;.in r the .attitude toreaTds" the land-;a'rid its The vital ' question''-lyhich . : 'hith©rto jrh'id )'sbeen, "Who owns the ; land ?'.!,': had becbrne '."Who shall: use" the'- lands "and on what'terms ?" And with the change had grown the feeling that the State should dp.more than.it had dbno in.the.past'.in 'the direction of'fittiug the Maori to be a cultiyatorof the soli. The area of thQ Dominion; 1 taking -the North, South; and Stewart Island,- was 66,340,910 acres, or thereabouts. Of this area the Maoris owned in the : North Islandj approxi;mately, 7;445,000. of Maorii land in.the other islands could not.be ascertained at present,. but; it ..was so. small that mention made Dealing with the North Island, the..position.of the - Native lands at the present time was as : follows:— Under profitablo occupation—(a) by Europeans under lease, : (o) by -'-• Maoris (estimated),'3,2so,3B9 acres; vested'in trust for settlement or subject to recommendations of the ■ Native.,. Land Commission,-!'.: 2,120 6d7 feres iVbakn'oe, 2;073,964 acre4;;approxinia.te total, . i,440,000 , acres. ■■ The':. 'balance was madeup ■as-.follpwsi.-Untitled.landS'-br only partly investigated/'570,572 acros j.-'siitiject to .i£ nS ewera> ' a "Ve : District .Rescryes Act, 466,862 acres; subject to the Thermal Springs District Aot,. 121,007 acres; unclassified for the. mostfpart-poor lanas, ,915,343 . awes; .total, 2,0/3,964 acres. . .V - ...-■•■ ■■-■■■-■■:■■. ; Detailsof the Triret Lands/ .Duringthe'peribdfrom 1891'to-1909 the Crown had acquired by purchase from the Maoris over 3,000,000 acres of land for settlement. , A large;area; estimated at*, a , quarter of a million acres, had duriag the same period been sold ;outright to Europeans. So that, during .'that time .the proportion between lands sold aid lands leased had been practically, equal.,. As the vesting .in trustees: or boards ;for ;admihistra.tive purposes was a, prominent feature,, it might.Be.well to state ■ in "respect. of: trust 'es-' 192,273'-acres (lease' only)-; : East ; Coast,: •■••lVust 186,388 acres (sale, lease, and Maori occupation) • special 1 trusts and MangatuX Empowerim; Aot, 116,464'(Jea50 .only) • vested in Maori' Land Boards under the Maori Land Administration Aot,' 393,852,' ■., acres!, (lease'■ only) •*' bcingvested in Maori Land-Boards on recommendation of the commission,; 1,020 202 (lease and for sale). ■"' '■•'• ■'-.... The "commission had also recommended for Maori.occupation to be rendered inalienable except; for. settlement by Maoris an • area of over 880,000 acres. If the recommendations were adopted : the. area of lands held under various trusts would thon bo nearly 2 789000 acres. , It.must bo borne.in mind,'howeverj that-nearly one-fifth of the total would be resold urider.the recommendations of'the commission 6i- under the'terms of tho trusts so that-eventually the amount that would'rcmain, to the Maoris held in, trust for them or resoi-ved under'the recomniendations. of the commission would be, roughly, 2,290 000 acres, "of which only 880,000 wouid be available for the use of .the owners, Outside trust lands and lands:to be' reserved, there was an area of roughly 4,656,000 acres. Of this area 2,401,000 acres ; were, under lease to Europeans, by direct negotiation. . Many of the leases were nearly at an end, so that a considerable -area J of improved land, would be reverting to the Maori .owners. Nearly half of the balance was owing to tho nature of. or .the want of: titles not immediately available for settlement by either Maoris' or Europeans. That consisted, chiefly of. laii'ds iii the -Urewera country, lands to.'the,,no'rthca«t of Opotiki, the Thermal SpriisgsV'district, nnd.the'.North of .Auckland-.; Fp'r- : M"ion' occupation .-available at tho nrcsmit: '. ■'Ij'tnn there was'BSojoOo ; aaefii to'-wiuoh'niigut';be

50,000:, acres not touched.by the oomriiission'3 recommendation's. It'>- was '.estimated tltat 400,000 acres of .that area was prdlita'bly occupied: >•<■■ .■■; .'..... ';{</'' : .'. \ '^;; : ,Europßaii 'or Natjue; Settlemeni? . 'The- Government .was .faced .'with ; two problems—the':'first, -the:: settlement, I';, of ithe land by'Europ'eiiisiyvlease'orssalo,ithe.othert the settlement of ;i the' slaoris ,: on''vtheir..-own: lands.'' Both "problems' or'rather, both- aspects of the problem, might be taken into account in framing:: •• general:. propcisals ' as follow:— :;•'; ; :-?V,- : "- ;■•;■.-:■ '' ; (1) That the Stateshould put itself in" tho .position'of saying .to. the Maoris: "All that can be reasonably done to assist you; to become, efficient •' ocqiipicrs- of iyour ; lands ',bas ; been done, so that the' Stato.might also be in a : position to say,' 'You are now required, to fulfil. your responsibilities .as ordinary; citizens of tho Dominion.' V For that pur-'i pose , there-' should'be; emphasised iivthe teiii."of Native . eduoation agricultural edu-! riatio'ii.' Suitable candidates' should- be se-i lected to > obtain practical experience in branches of farming mest likely to benefit, the ;; districts from which they were selected., The'attention of'instructors under the-Agri-I cultural! Department might be- directed to, Maori farming'communities., •-, . <■':■■■■ (2) The cost of 'investigating and clothing' Native lands with titles.that might bo used in negotiations i for sale and lease.- or fori settlement'by the owners was known to be; enormous, and. was borne entirely'by the: Maori owners. They consisted of Court fees,; survey costs, and legai expenses*' The State might-assist tho Maori owners by providing' greater .facilities at W lower rate for survey; of Native, lands by contributing towards thecost.:of preparing suitable roadiiig schemes ; on the partition of lands and towards the cost of consolidating interests arid , holdings. , (3), The resourpes of the Government Ad- : i.yanoeV to' Settlers should he made increas-' ingly available to Maori settlers. ;-'(4) That the legislation ' affecting Native lands be consolidated and modified so,as .to conform, as much as .possiblo,•■ to the '.cpjitli-; tions now obtaining. In that connection he' submitted. ; the following modifications:—, (a) In the mode'.of titles,' suecessorlsipartitiori', and exchanges-to Imodify. Native customs and usages so that the holdings might, at 'the end of the' investigation, bo available in 'convenient blocks, and with sufficient titles, * for ■ settlement purposes.. (b) That whore the business ..intelligence of the Maori land owners has: , reached an average standard, the conduct of' their business may bo entrusted to .them., -and.t'they/be asked to share the full responsibility of land oivnership. The test, should be'whether the were held ,bV a conveniently small number of owners.; ,Tb'e general restriction against alienation would be in such cases, subject to approval' of all dealings by statutory boards, (c)-That the Maoris should be increasingly thrown on ; their own resources', and made to feel the need for snaring increasingly in local and general taxation. Details under that heading would be 'submitted. for consideration -later.'■ ■/.(d). That' ; the improvidence exhibited in the past in regard to tbd proceeds ofvJand sales remains: a serious, difficulty, necessitating tho making of special provision in any system of Crown purchases from the Maoris. The purchases .by the Crown should, as far as possible, be "conducted through' the.'Maori land boards acting as agents for the owners. Provision might; bo made for devoting a percentage of prooeede of sales or revenue from lands to general purposesof utility to the Maoris, such as ; hygiene, education, etc. Forecast of Legislation. ,'" , The legislation necessary w.ould be as follows :—(1); A' Native Land • Coilrt Bill, :dealiiig only,:with titles and everything relating t,i alienation eliminated.. (2)' 'A-Native Land Settlement Bill, dealing with.alienation, the control and administration by boards, and making extended 1 provision for , the settlement of Maoris on their lands. .(3) A Native Land Rating Bill. (4) An amendment'to tho Advances'tO'Sottlers Act, providing that portion of loan'moneys.-might bo earmarked for advances to Maori , sottlcrsl. ' .

Ladies'-do not ■ always stop, to think: what they ■ are■.getting ..when . purchasing hair pads. To be clean and - healthy, it is essential .they should Uβ made of hair .only;'niariv pads' sold in the "Dominion'are shifted with various .rubbish,' 'such • as ; dyed : wool, ■ waste, horsehair, etc., which irritate and injure the hair. To ensure getting_ honest. value, . ask your • draper for the 'TSeleravia" , registered pad; made by A. }i HENDY,- Die well-known Hair Specialist, of Diincdin, I"iicn Is., in nil colours Obtniimblp. from nil leading drumn