The Star. MAORIS AND THEIR LANDS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, Issue LIII, 8 April 1908, Page 4

The Star.

MAORIS AND THEIR LANDS.

DelfTtted every tTenlng dj 8-o'olook in Eavn Mtnih, NotHj»nby, Otaliwa, Elthwn, Mug* oki. K»ponK», Awatun«, O^orinke, Otakebo M*luuiu, Alton, ttarlejTilie, fate«. and WftTCtlOT.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 1908.

Tho reports of tihe prGceedingsi of the Naiivo Minister in, the noath raisei hopes that at last something practical is being done towards tli© settiomeint of native lands. But theso two words <f at Jast" Have sc oftca. been used, that they hardly cany much significance. In 1878 John Sheehan, Nativei Minister, penned a clausa for the Gover-nd-r'B Spcwh to Parliftment, in which jfc was declared that "at last the nar tive difficulty was settled. Th© new oxpcrimeoits bct^eom 1878 and 1903 are psist numboiring, but as Sir Joseph Ward said at .Napier last year the retcord is. & melancholy list of failures to devise ary satisfactory means of oatatlidiing confidence between the two races, or any workable- fjchcmei of utilising for profitable settlement idle tracts of native- lsnda Latterly, perhaps, some progress has bcem mad©. On the. East Cbasr. there- has been some advancement, on, the Wanganui river i-ndoubtodly thews has leca progrtas, raid also in tho centre of the ieilaiud. 'Pilings look better, and if tho Native Minister is justified "in his estimatesi thcrei are still belter things ahead. Referring toi a recent korei^o in, the Waikata he has declared that the- natives have concurred in arrangements under which. 91,315 acres had been sofc apart for kadngas, native reserves, and farming; also 72,911 aorosi for leasing purposes, and practically about 87,96? acres for s:ila In tihe several counties there will be a.t least 500,000 acres dealt with before the | .movement initiated by the meeting is brought to a, conclusion. At anotli u r meeting also there had been satisfaotory results aohicved. So tJje future promisee better. Whether the promise will be fulfilled is another matter, but the best must be hoped for. Certainly the Minister appears to have captured Mahutu, the titular Maori king, for we aro told that at* the conclusion, of the meeting particularly referred to, this •potenta'to .spoke to thel following «ffeiiat:~"l liave a word to say to you before the multitude to-day. It is a final word, and carries with it the ending of all that haa gone before^ and the raisang of a new standard. Henceforth tho dreams and aspirations, the hopes and aims, cf th(*e who once guided our d«^itiniefi are now clearly in the region of tho unattainablei You ask us to> work through and vndeir the law. Yfe; we will do that, for you sa.y wo cun exercise the privilege we esteem sci much, and have always strained for — that is, of handling, arranging, and dividing our own lands for tihe seiveral purposes which are commendable to us. I will not conceal the fact — selling mvst form a material part in any scheme of land disposition. We accept this, and rave thai way to a ntiw future. This ending of all our differences and opening up of now paths ii* your w(-rk, <.h, minister 1 We are- coar ceded the rights of disposing of our* own radar the law. By the voice of the people shall be deed-led the various m.xlcs of disposition and management of cur lands. My pronouneenvent t-o-day, and let none of you disitgard it, is w« acttpti wo agree to work under the law, and to- do our best to promote settlement. I have, spoken." On- its face \aJuo ihis is quite a good "speak," too. The natives have recently been told by the> Gc vernor and his Minasters that tlxe idea of appealing to the British Parliament m«y be dismissed as ohiiiieri-al, avid if ihe warnings have l&aJly had an eli'eet en the native mind and have persuaded tLo, Uaderfl of Maco Councils lhat. tlxe game of taihea cannct be \iayed longei*, tho recent me titings will have dorfii a great service to the Nottb Island.