NATIVE LANDS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1277, 4 November 1911, Page 4

NATIVE LANDS.

ELASTIC FIGURES. THE MAORIS' 810 RUNT ROLL. A NORTHERN VIEW. Mr Telccrapli.- Special CorresDonuonU . Auckland, November 3. »■''''■ A. J. .\gala made a slatcmenl purlw,'!'!, Klv " lf '° l ,rt '-'- ,ia fc<"<»l"'» ol tho ; "'" I'inns, and t,,.u ~u,tc;,,cnl Js being "■■" by tiovernnieiil candidates ail over ,: ,'r:"" u -v. Tl„> agncmiural editor of ■ i,i,i,'"'"'""'' rt «<".V .W„" has plac/4 • £ Wly~|llk,,*„t „,,„■,,. ol t'h,, nation /in ,\ '■ l '"'■ '" " criticism ol tnu .",". '\-'', Matiinient. Jlo slates: .'!>' were „«,! by Mr. S wU f }U theso fiKHrew to Ix-wilrlf-r innocent' nolileij.ns anil In rnal: f! the v -,h\i, U„' o th.it the outcry atrnm.--. loftk«(l-up Maori 1. nds was purely „n Oppw-W cute r "it let us study them from a pure U business point of view. 7

Rolling in Money, t frr r ', l o' KatA a '-' t "'-'« / I«'JK« that thwe art Sr 51 -, o,:n ' s •=£, -Maori-ownwl land ia piofilablo owmpation. by which lie means of courw, that this land is occupied by huvopean tenants or leaseholders, who pay rent tor th o privilege of improving f for tho Maori ownem. It is not ranch to assume that the value of thin land iq nt least .IDs. ptr aero, and that its rental value is Is. (id. per aero per year. As a matter of fact, it is probably higher than Uup. for largo trade of Maori land aro leased at 2s. Cd. and 3s. per acre and more. But. even at Is. Cd. per acre, the rentals alouc will yield to every man, woman, and child of tho Native rac« the very nice income of £150 per vcar-not a bad income; this to be received by people who profess to 1m so poor that tney cannot pay rates, and who draw a larger proportion of old ago pensions and hospital and charitable aid cxpcnili. ture than any other section of tho com. inumty.

But this sum, paid by the pcoplo who are accused of trying to grab the Natives' land, does not represent, by any means, tho revenues received by the Maoris, fliero are township leases and timber and flax royalties, and the cash sales of isolated blocks of land, whilst, as a reserve, there is the 3,080,8G3 acres of Maori land which is at present idlo and unoccupied. This unoccupied land, which Mr, Neata speaks of as if it wero a mcro detail, is worth at least .£1,000,000, and is so situatcd that it locks up fully another 3,0 M,OOO acres from settlement. Mr. Ngata estimates the area of Native land unoccupied, but fit for settlement, at 2,700,000 acrc«, and thinlsß that tWs is a mero bagatelle to be hold in idleness, but, if the Government offered to buy tho unoccupied Native lands on a 2,700,000 acres basis, would Mr. Ngata bo inclined to sell? It is doubtful, for when it comes to sell, the area will, in some surprising way, haw grown to probably over 4,000,000 acres.

A Variable Area, The area of Nativo Lands is very much liko tho number of the Maori population. It grows larger or smaller according to the dosiro of tho Nativo administrators. Neither Mr. Ngata nor Mr. Carroll, nor any other Maori politician, dare deny that tho Maoris of to-day are in receipt of enough money annually, from rents alone, to lwop every man, woman, and child in a high stato of comfort. They daro not deny that, every year, the Maoris are receiving, from private individuals and from tho Government, large sums in cash for the sale of land, timber, flax, and other things. Now what are these noblo Maori leaders doing to help their people to use this money wisely and well ? What was dono with the X3G.000 received for tho sale of the To Akau Block or the .£26,000 received for tho Mokau lands? Do wc hear of Maori oollogea being started by Maori patriots? Do wo hear of instructors being engaged to teach the Maoris agriculture or of farm settlements being established? Is anything practical being done with tho largo sums of money which are being paid to the Maoris nearly every month? These are questions which tho Mnori politicians should bo asked whon they get up in Parliament to throw dust in tho eyes of tho public to blind them on tho Maori land question. We know that every effort is being mado by those in. whoso hands wo have given tho welfare of tho Nativo race to inako their pcoplo idlers, instead of workers.

Actions v. Words, Messrs. Ngata and Carroll may preach' tho doctrine of education, and monetary assistance for the Maori, but their actions speak louder than their words, and all their actions are in tho direction of building up n Maori landlord caste which will grow rich on tho exertions of tha white man. During tho last few years sufficient money has been paid bv tho pakeha into tho hands of the Maoris to give every adult man means to stock and fit out a dooout-sized farm, and tho leaders of the race have allowed this money to be squandered in all sorts of follies and extravagances. It is not too late yet for something to be done to lift tho Maori from his lethargy and sloth. Liko us, ho requires some incentive to labour, and, like us, he requires all tho assistance which lie can get. If Messrs. .Ngata and Carroll will only put forward some simple scheme whereby the surplus lands of tho Maori can bo sold, and tho money funded for tho purpose of establishing industrious members of tho race on improved farms, there is scarcely a pnkeha in the Dominion but will assist them. Most people realise that, if the Maoris were turned into industrialists, it would bo for their own benefit and for tho benefit of tho counWhat is setting public fooling against the Maori land jwlicy is tho fact that it loads only in the direction of giving the Maoris all the benefits of land ownership without nny of its rosponsibilities. They want to draw all the rents yet pay no rates. They want all tho improvements yet will not mako any. What dominant race can allow a section of its people to enjoy all these privileges? And what people in tho world can enjoy such privileges without being injured morally and physically? It is timo that the Maori leaders dropped their eloquence and their humbug, and did something besides talking.