NATIVE LAND

Evening Post, Volume XCI, Issue 146, 21 June 1916, Page 12

NATIVE LAND

HOLDING BACK OTAKI

PRESENT CONDITIONS EXPLAINED A PLEA FOR DRASTIC ACTION.

In all probability the first question asked by a stranger landing suddenly in Otaki. would be, "What's wrong with the place?" He would be able to tell instantly that something was amiss, but he would find the Otaki townspeople equally ready with an answer. "It's the Native land! " they would say, only, perhaps, their language would not be so mild.

Originally Otaki was cut up into quarter-acre sections under the direction of Bishop Hadfield, the intention being that the Maoris should occupy these and so be near the Mission. Very little provision was made for roads, but that was all right until European settlement started in earnest. Of course, that had to come eventually, and now Otaki is suffering. The time has gone when the Native cultivated his holding, and now the sections stand neglected. They a;e to be seen everywhere, even in the centre of the township. With but a few exceptions, the Natives do absolutely nothing with their property. It just stands idle, but all the time its value is increasing because of the improvements effected all around. HOW THE MAORIS ARE "PROTECTED." Of course, the Maori has power to sell, providing the transfer is agreed to by the Maori Land Board operating in the district. . A Maori may have obtained a deposit on a piece of land, but when the suggested transfer copes before the board the Native will say : "No, I am not satisfied with it," and it is thrown out. In most cases the deposit also vanishes. For this reason the pakeha is inclined to^ steer clear of Native land, and if the number of people who profess to have been Ijitten can substantiate* their assertions, he does so with every reason. The Maori in Otaki is regarded as a very unsatisfactory person to deal with. A REMARKABLE TITLE. But the uncertainty with Maori lands does not end here. Much of the land canuot be bought, for the simple reason that there is no title to it. Much of it has not been individualised, and so nobody knows to whom particular areas belong. Probably they will never bo individualised, because'in some cases the cost would be exorbitant. 'The separate areas are small, and. the claimants are - numerous, especially.when there is a sale in the wind. It is just as expensive to get a v separate title to a square foot as to get one for a hundred square miles. One remarkable title has just been completed by Mr. Byron Brown after many, many years, but it indicates more clearly than anything else just how the position with Native land is. A long time ago Mr. Brown set out to purchase a block of 267 acres at Tamanuka, near Otaki. He ha-s only just completed the deal, and the title contains the signatures of over 800 Natives. The share which some of these signatories will receive amounts to two.or. three shillings, or even less, while the most any -Native will receive is about £3. Mr. E. T. Atkinson endeavoured to purchase the land before' Mr. Brown, but evidently he was not so patient. THE QUESTION OF LEASING. The alternative to buying outright is to lease, but here again the same difficulties occur, and other difficulties are added. The Maori Land Boards have a discretionary power to grant a lease for a term up to fifty years, such to include all renewals of the lease. But, so it is asserted, the board looks with grave suspicion on any lease for a longer term than twenty-one years, and it makes it a rule that, at the end of the first ten years, the rent shall be increased to at least 5 per cent, of the then unimproved value. Reference is made above to the original sub-division and the absence of roads. There is ..one road —the Courthouse is erected upon it—which is only 16ft 6in wide, and very few of the roads are the regulation 66ft. That in itself is a drawback to any town, and disheartening in the extreme to a town-planner. Many of the titles to the various sections have been investigated separately instead of en bloc, and the boundaries have in numerous instances been found to overlap. In other, cases the boundaries between two sections of Native land do not meet at all; it is neutral country— no man's land. So there is not only an uncertainty of tenure, but an uncertainty as to the actual area occupied. WHAT IS THE REMEDY? What is the remedy for this state of affairs? It is certainly a big question, and one which will have to be dealt with in a drastic manner. Experienced men can only see one way out of it, namely, a whitewashing of the Maori land laws as far as Otaki township is concerned. In making 'this suggestion the people of Otaki have. no desire to belittle the Maori or to do him any injustice, and they point out that at present his holdings are of absolutely no value to him, for reasons which may be summarised as follow : — (1) The areas held by the Natives are small. (2) The land for the most part is not individualised, and has no road access. (3) Where the titles have- bejen individualised and there happens to be sufficient road access no steps are taken by the Native to cultivate or improve the land. (4) The Natives would really be better off without the land, which, although giving no return, is liable, under the ' amending legislation, for rates and, in many cases, land tax. (5) The Natives in this district have been in such close touch with the pakeha for the past 30 years that they have, to a large extent, lost their Native customs and become embodied, so to speak, in the European, and they are essentially a people well. able to look after themselves. THE PAYMENT OF TAXES. Many people are of the opinion that the Maoris will be driven out of Otaki owing to the rate demands of the Otaki Town Board. Others do not hold faith in that. For instance, the rates due on one property may amount to a few pounds. Is it likely that the board will spend twice the amount in going to the Supreme Court for a charging order? So this provision is somewhat of a nullity. It is contended that the Government should step in, commandeer all the Maori land iii the township, have it individualised as quickly as possible, sell it or lease it on ordinary terms to the pakeha, and hold the returns, in trust,., for the Maori owners.

An instance of successful co-opo-ration in bacon-making is quoted in the-Agri-cultural Gazette (England). The St. Edmundsbury, Co-operative Bacon Factory showed ri profit for the year of £2909; after, making "provision for bad debts, depreciation of plant, and writing oil. £219 of .^preliminary expenses.- The amount carried forward from the previous year was £365; and it. was recommended that a,dividend of 4 per cent, per annum on shares for the years 1914 and 1915: bo paid; a bonus of 6d por pig sent by members* in 1912, 1913,-1914, and 1915; trad that, the remainder bo li'eld in 'reserve; For the 'nine months -ol 1912,. U1,282 pigs werereceived; in 1913, 11.302 pigs; in 1914, 18,766 pigs; and in. 1915, L22.lll.iHge,