NATIVE LAND COURT.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIII, Issue 9, 11 January 1907, Page 6

NATIVE LAND COURT.

A LONG LIST OF ARREARS. MORE JUDGES REQUIRED. Matters in connection •with the Native Land Couit appear to be getting wors6, instead of better, and it is understood that Cabinet is at present consideiing the matter. The dela\s of the Native Land Court have been marked for many years, and some few months ago tho Government appointed three new judges, with the object of obviating to some extent the delays that had for so long been the subject of complaint. A& a matter of fact, however, the thre» new appointments made very little difference, seeing that at the tame time Judge Edgar was appointed Undcr-Seeretary (and "thereby removed from Land Comt woik) and Judge Johnson was retired, thus leaving . a gain of one judge on active service. The present position, an .shown by enquiries, is that ono native judge is not by any means sufficient. What with the work of the Appellate Court, the ordin-* ary Land Courts, and the Maori Councils, the judges have their hands over full, and day by day the work ii petting further behindhand. The Maori land policy foreshadowed by tho Government of late is b;ised on the necessity of a comparatively speedy jjartition of all the blocks which have not yet been subjected to that piocess, and the individuali&ation of titles throughout the colony. The amount of work involved thereby is enormous, and would keep a large bench of judges busy for Borne time if thoy had nothing else to do.' There are at present some fifteen thousand cases already awaiting tho attention of the court, "and when these will be dealt with i no one seems to have the faintest idea. On the whole, it appears that the Native Land Couit of the colony is in a hopeless state of arrears, and unless some fresh arrangements aro made the prospects of any better state of things ai riving are not at all .good. It is understood that the Native Commission hinted at by the Government last session will consist of the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout), Mr. H. D. Bell, who has a very wide knowledge of our native land legislation, and Mr. 'Ngata, M.H.R.