TITLES IN LOTUS-LAND

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 152, 29 June 1914, Page 4

TITLES IN LOTUS-LAND

New Zealand has now owned and controlled the Cook Islands for thirteen years, but it is to be doubted whether the average New Zealander ever gives serious thought to the responsibility which this trust involves. Yet that there are difficult problems to be solved is clearly indicated in the articles written by the correspondents who visited the islands in company with His Excellency tho Governor. Like New Zealand, the Cook Islands have a native land problem; but while in New Zealand this is now but a fraction, though a substantial fraction, of the whole land ques-' tion, in the Islands tho native title is the dominant factor. In Rarotonga, out of a, population of over 2000, only 140 are whites, and nearly all the land is owned by natives, who, not having the work habit, are not likely to do much to increase its productiveness. Our correspondent writes : " Twelve or four•teen Europeans, ail more or less prosperous, hold land in Rarotonga for planting purposes, but these leases were all secured many years ago, beforo tho Land Titles Court built up barriers against tho white planter, and beforo the organisation of the exportation of fruit awakened the natives to a realisation of the relative value of their lands." White residents point out that tho native owner never saves money, and does not wish to j a sufficiency for the day is all he seeks, and if he gets a higher price for his fruit, he sells less fruit. This may be Arcadian, but it is not economic. In the Cook Islands, as in New Zealand, we are faced with the facb that the land must be worked by whites if it is to be made properly productive. At the same time, we have to see-that the native is not impoverished. To make him an habitual worker seems to be almost impossible, because of the lavish way in which Nature" in Lotus-land yields to her children the fruits of tho soil. New Zealand's native land policy alternated, down toreCeiit times, between permitting, and prohibiting, private dealing. Under the Liberal Governments, after a period of prohibition, during which tho Stale alone was a buyer, we came buck to a compromise along the lines of private leasing, which finally developed into tho present complex system of leasing or selling, under which tho native may sell surplus lands (subject to his having 'sufficient other lands for his maintenance) or may lease under (.ho supervision of tho Maori Laud Boards^ gf j,he Couk klanda pMV. SM- (

respondent reports : " A native may not sell his land under any conditions, and it is now practically impossible to obtain a lease." Such a state of affairs must heavily handicap tho economic progress of- the Cook Islands, and it is at variance with our own policy in New Zealand. The guiding principle of any successful native land policy would appear to be that the land must be placed for work* ing in tho hands of those who will work it, and that the nntive owner's interests must bo safeguarded by restrictions, but that these restrictions must not bo so tight as to strangle the users of the soil. To strike a balance between the interests of a brown owner and a white lessee £3 not easy. It calls, indeed, for tho highest statesmanship, but nevertheless that is what is expected of New Zealand's administration in the Cook Islands. Our mission there is neither to sacrifice the native interests, nor yet to allow the land to lie fallow ; and if we are to succeed we will have to send some of our best brains to the administrative posts. At present there ssems to be a very regrettable lack of co-operation between tho Resident Commissioner (Mr. H. W. Northeroft) and the white residents. In such conditions a really successful administration seems to be very unlikely of realisation, if not impossible. With the advent of Panama Canal services the Cook Islands will acquire a new importance, and it is time that the public generally began to take an intelligent interest in the affairs of the group, in that case, tho politicians will follow the lead of the public, as they usually do. '

At its meeting this evening the Petone Borough Council will consider the question of revising the building bylaws of the borough. An inquest will be held at 4 o'clock this afternoon, at the Hospital, by Mr. D. G. A. Cooper, S.M., concerning the death of a middle-aged man named Peter M'Laughh'n, who came with his brother John to Wellington from Waipuku, in Taranaki, a couple of weeks ago, and died in the Hospital on Friday night from the effects of a fall in Upper Willisstreet. Both the brothers had been drinking heavily, and John is now in custody undergoing medical treatment The conference of members of the Headquarters and District Staffs, for tho purpose of considering the improvement of the Defence scheme, was opened at the Garrison Officers' Club, Bucklestreet, this morning, Major-General Sir A. J. Godley presiding. The proceedings, it is expected, will extend over two days. Included in the business which will come up for consideration will bo Sir lan Hamilton's report, and the recommendations of the recent conference of senior Territorial officers. "Daily Traveller" writes complaining of the running of the Manawatu railway traffic. He says : " Travellers on this railway wonder where the management comes in. We had another example on Friday. At 11.49 a.m. a train of a few trucks of coal steamed up tlirough Khandallah, and had to reach Johnsonville to allow the Palmerston North train to pass. Result : Palmerston North train ten minutes late at Khandallah and Ngaio, and Auckland mail held up at the latter station for a. like period." When is this sort of management to ceas9? he asks. On Saturday afternoon last the Mayor of Petone (Mr. J. W. M'Ewan) and a number of councillors paid a visit to the foreshore for the purpose 61 making an inspection and discussing preliminaries in connection with the beach improvement scheme. Before anything material in the way of beautifying the waterfront can be done it Avill be necessary to considerably extend the concrete wall and complete the filling in between, the Esplanade road and the wall. Councillors agreed that the wall could be extended in a Straight line tO | Queen-street, approximately half a mile. From that point it will be necessary to deviate slightly, the object being to conserve as much of the beach as possible. In erecting the wall to the Queen-street point it will be necessary to raise a number iof boatsheds, while after the deviation three will require setting back. Those whose connection with the Hutfc Valley dates back to the days when the Hutt River was > an overpowering enemy of the striving settlers, need no reminder of the benelicial effects of the river protective works. To-day it would require a very severe flood indeed to do any great amount of damage to adjacent properties, a statement which has been fully borne out in recent years. Up to the present time the Hutt River Board has spent about £40,000 in protective works, and. although the results have been satisfactory, there still remains a good deal of work to be < done. In the upper reaches of tho river a considerable amount of erosion is continually occurring, and it is only j a matter of time when the protective works will have to be extended. It is contemplated by the board to submit a proposal to the ratepayers asking thetn to sanction a further loan, but no definite steps will _ be- taken until a report has been received from the board's consulting engineer.