King Country Chronicle Saturday, July 12th, 1913 RATES ON NATIVE LANDS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 584, 12 July 1913, Page 4

King Country Chronicle Saturday, July 12th, 1913 RATES ON NATIVE LANDS.

The agitation in connection with rating native lands which has been carried on by various public lmdiea for some time past iB apparenty having the effect of quickening and broadening the activities of the Maori Land Boards. During the past week a telegram was received by the Waitomo County Council from the president of the Waikato-Maniapoto Maori Land ! Board enquiring a? to the amount of rates due on certain lands which were being dealt with by the hoard. Thiß is a step in the right direction and ie | giving effect to a recommendation I made by Mr P. Mora, clerk to the ! Waitomo County Council, with a view j to eliminating some of the difficulties j in connection with the collection of j native rates. It is gratifying to j learn that such an obviously commonI sense procedure is to be adopted in ! future, and the result cannot fail to be of benefit to the local bodies in HI districts where native lands exist. In the past it has been customary lor the boards to deal with the landß irrespective of any claim for rates, and in the case of the land passing to Europeans the latter have frequently been saddled with a liability for arrears of rates which had accumulated during the period prior to the land being dealt ; with. The adoption of the recommenj dation by the board will undoubtedly be the means of simplifying the work involved in the collection of i the rates and the prevention of a I causa of misunderstanding on the ! part of lessors or pjrehasers of S native-owned lands.