The Dominion. FRIDAY, JULY 21, 1011. THE MOKAU ESTATE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1185, 21 July 1911, Page 4

The Dominion. FRIDAY, JULY 21, 1011. THE MOKAU ESTATE.

The plain-speaking indulged in by Mn. Massey in his Auckland speech respecting the Mokau Estate has drawn from the Acting-Prime Minister, Sir James Carroll, a reply which we publish in another column. Mr. Massey did not put the whole of the facts-before the public, but he revealed enough to show that the part which the Government has taken in connection with the sale of this estate calls for the closest scrutiny, and he gives promise of interesting disclosures at a later stage. According to the Leader of the Beform party, the facts are that this large block of Native land, of between 50,000 and 60,000 acres in extent, was sold under special circumstances to a syndicate of land speculators. The firm of Findlay ard Dalziell acted for the person who held the mortgage over the land and through whom the syndicate secured it; a special Order-in-Council had to be passed to permit the sale, and Sir James Carroll presided at the meeting at which the Ordcr-in-Coun-cil was passed; while Mr. R. M'Nab, an _ ex-Minister for Lands is the chairman of the purchasing syndicate. The circumstance that directly or indirectly two Ministers of the Crown and one ex-Minister are associated with a transaction of this nature naturally calls for the fullest explanation, and this explanation Sir Jajies Carroll professes to give in his reply to Mn. Massey which we publish this morning. Unfortunately Sir James Carroll, like Mr. Massey, docs not disclose all that he knows of the matter. He makes a plausible enough explanation of the reasons for the unusual course followed, but he omits or conceals the really vital points at issue. It is provided under Section 193 of the Native Land Act, 1909, that it shall not be lawful for any person, individually or in conjunction with others, to acquire any area of Native land in excess of 3000 acres. How, then, di 1 this syndicate come to acquire over 50,000 acres'?_ Section 203 of thesame Act authorises the Gov-eruor-in-Council, i,n any case in which he deems it expedient in the public interest so to do, to permit the acquisition or disposition of Native land, "notwithstanding any of the provisions of this part of the Act." It was under this section of the Act that over 50,000 acres, known as the Mokau Estate, was sold to the private syndicate as stated. But what were the-circumstances which made, it "expedient in the public interest" to take this exceptional course? Sir James CAiutOLL.tclls us that the landhad been lpckyd ( up for 25 years, and no satisfactory settlement appeared possible. Why not? Why could not tho Government itself take over the land instead of granting a private, syndicate special facilities to do so? If it would pay a private syndicate to purchase the property at the price stated, plus tho value of the mortgage, why should not the Government, which had the power to do so, take over the land 1 The Government could then have placed the land on the market at cost price, whereas the settlers who take it up will now be loaded with the profits which, the private syndicate will quite justly expect to make. What induced tho Government, which professes to be so solicitous for the small land-seeker, to permit a private syndicate to acquire this large area of land when the Government could have secured the land itself, probably at a less figure? It must be borne in mind that the syndicate could never have obtained this land without the assistance of the Government and the passing of the special Ordcr-in-Coun-cil. And what has Sir James Carroll to say about the Ordcr-in-C'ouncil ? The Act sets out that this can only be issued when the Governor deems it expedient in the public interest so to do. The regulations under the Act—and nowadays regulations practically amount to Cabinet-made Acts of Parliament—provide that the application for the issue of the Order-in-Council -must be made through the Maori Land Board of the district. Furthermore, it is provided 'that.at least ten days' notice of the intention of the- Board to deal with "any application" shall be inserted in the Gazette, and it shall not be lawful for any Board to deal, with i.ny application until after the expiry of such ten days Now the course pursued in relation to. this Mokau Block is, to say the least of it, peculiar. Especially is it open to comment in view of the parties associated, directly and indirectly, with the transaction. ' The meeting of the Executive Council at which the Order-in-Council was passed authorising the sale of the land was held on the fifteenth of March last, Sir James Carroll presiding. .The Maori Land Board, according to the published reports, confirmed the sale of the land under the Order-in-Council on the twenty-second of March. But the Order-in-Council itself, which was tho authority for the sale and the only information the public had of what was transpiring, was riot published in the Gazette until the . thirteenth of March; or several days after the sale had actually taken place. A very curious business this. What was thc_ object in thus hushing up the decision to throw the whole of this large block of land open for sale to a private syndicate, until it was too late for any possible competitor or anyone else to step in 1 .Mr. Massey will do a very great public service if he succeeds in securing a full inquiry into this Mokau transaction. We arc not concerned with the syndicate which has been lucky enough to secure the property. Our concern, and the public's, is with the Government which facilitated the syndicate's efforts and the means which it adopted to serve its purpose. The Government has been successful in smothering up a great many things, but the circumstances surrounding this latest phase of the Mokau ease are such that the public arc not likely to be satisfied with anything but a full investigation by an impartial tribunal. When that is secured sonw remarkable disclosures may bo loo'ued forward to,