THE Grey River Argus. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1868.

Grey River Argus, Volume VI, Issue 413, 5 September 1868, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1868.

It is to be hoped that the present session of the General Assembly will not be allowed to close, without an effort being made by the Westland members, and more especially by the member for the Boroughs, to bring about some arrangement by which the Maori Reserve, upon which one-half 'of the town of Grey mouth is built, may be declared freehold and sold. With re spect to its site, thi,s town has occupied an exceptional positiou since its formation. When the first rush of population took place it was found that the site surveyed and laid off for a town by tho Government officers was not the most eligible, and that what ought to have been reserved for that purpose had been given away to the Natives many years previously, The consequence was, that in defiance $f enormous charges for ground rent, the largest half of the town was built upon this Maori land ; and, although there has since been a general reduction in the rents then charged, still they are, in some cases, absurdly exorbitant, and have lately become a most oppresive ta?c, and great hindrance to the spread of the business portion of the town. In the heat of the first rush, when money was plentiful and easily made, business men thought first of obtaining an eligible site and second of the rent they would be called upon to pay for ifc. But as time wote ou, and the business of tho town settled down into its quiet every-day style, ihen it was that men began to think of the leases they had signed, and the enormous ground rents the^had bound

themselves to pay. Some action was take'i in the matter, and on proper representations beipg madj? to Mr' Mackay, the Native Commissioner, during one of Ilia periodical visits, lie admitted the force of the arguments used, and made a considerable reduction in the rents of sections in the cross and back streets. At the same time he refused to recommend the Government to sell the Ke. serve, for the reason that he did not know auotheL- security in y\\id\ the money it would bring could be invested and return such a handsome interest. We belieye he could not find such auother profitable investment in the world ; but. a mpre selfish and impolitic reason could not be advanced for continuing an iniquitous system of taxation. Its continuance tip, to the present time has been owing mainly to the forbearance and long-suffering of the inhabitants. They ought long ere this to have gone beyond Mr Mackay, and shewn to the General Government the absurd selfishness of his reasoning, and endeavored to obtain the right of purchasing their land— a right which, we feel ponfident, would not be withheld if the case was stated in a fair and candid manner- to thj.) General Government. During the last few years eveiy section holder iv th.c Maori Township has been compelled to. pay as rent more money than he ought to have paid for his land as freehpld, and if some arrangement is nqfc brought about, he will be called upon to piu'.chasp his land over and over again every year, until the tax will be found tp.p, heavy tp be bprne, and the land wijl be deserted. l^ T p better t;me than thp present cpuld be selected for making a strenuous effort to ge^ rid of this burden, which is becoming every year more and litirc unbearable. The Native Reserve has been incorporated with the Government Township in the recently formed Borough of Grey mouth, and we are confident the Government has assented to the BiJJ introduced into the House of Representatives by Mr Harrison for removing the names of the electors resident in the Maori Township from the electoral roll of Westland South and placing them on that of the Westland Boroughs. We expect that our representative will be prepared to follow up his recent action by moving in the direction indicated ; but we think,, in order to strengthen his hands, and enable him to place before the House some tangible reason for the request he will have to make, steps ought t<i bo immediately taken to draw up a memorial on the subject, which would be most extensively signed. It is no use waiting for the Municipal Council to take action in the matter, because owing to a recent decision, ifc may not be iuxtalled in office before Parliament is adjourned. If the matter is worth taking up, let ifc be clone at once by some of our leading citizens, and let no more valuable time be lost.